*Secret #130 The Right Tools

For some strange reason, the house we moved into a couple of years ago had a one ton safe in the garage. The safe door was open... and my wife and I lived in fear that one of our six kids might accidentally get locked in that safe. So I began a frantic search--trying to find someone who would come and take this unsafe safe off our hands for free. An antique collector showed up with a truck, a cart, and a big burly guy. But the three of us couldn't budge it. So I was stuck with the safe.

One day I mentioned my dilemma to a creative friend--a retired man--who collects stuff (including worthless one ton safes). He said, "I'll be over in the morning to pick it up." The next morning I expected to see him, a hydraulic lift, a flat bed semi truck, and a small army of buff guys. But when he showed up with his wife and his old pick up, I was more than a little surprised... and full of doubt. All he had with him was a very thick board about the size of a surf board and some contraption he called a "come-along."

He backed the truck up to the garage, placed the large board on the back of the truck angling it down to the garage floor. Then he anchored the come-along to the back of the truck and, unreeling the wire of the come-along, he wrapped the other end of the wire around the one ton safe. He started to crank the come-along, and much to my surprise and delight, the safe began to inch toward the truck. We took turns cranking the come-along until the safe reached the thick board angling down from the back of the truck. That's when he and his wife got on the sides of the safe--and he instructed me to keep cranking the come-along. Pretty soon that one ton safe was inching it's way up that thick board toward the back of the truck--sticking out precariously on either side of the thick board. A few more minutes of cranking the come-along and the one ton safe was safely in the back of that old pick up truck--heading out to a farm--and away from our garage.

I'm always amazed when I think of that day. And to be sure, I learned some really important lessons about life and time management:

Lesson #1. You gotta have the right tools.
I had all kinds of tools, but I didn't have the right tools to deal with this situation. Without the right tools, you can't do what you need to do well.

Lesson #2. You gotta know how to use the right tools.
Having the right equipment is not enough. It's using the right tools in the right way that makes the difference. If my friend would have dropped off the tools at my house expecting me to do the job, I'd still have that unsafe safe in my garage. I didn't even know what a come-along was before this adventure--let alone how to use it.

The same is true for you when it comes to managing your life and time. The questions are...
* Do you have the right tools?
* Do you know how to use the right tools?

Click here for tools that--if you learn how to use them properly--can help you take control of your time... and life!