The cover photo on the Chester County Antique Car Club’s March newsletter caught my eye when I was sifting through some mail that was piled on my desk. For days I had been trying to come up with a relevant topic for this column but I had been easily distracted.

1927 Austin, Chesco Antique Car Club, March 2010 issue

If you wait long enough your answer will find you.While studying the ‘27 Austin Seven Chummy, my mind went on a brief vacation wondering what it was like to see dozens of these cars in their heyday parading the streets. I casually opened the leaflet and was struck between the eyes by the simple question “Why can’t anything be easy?” Oh, the irony of it all! If you wait long enough your answer will find you. It stared me in the face.

Nothing is easy, but “easy” is largely attitudinal. For some, tightening door handles is a no-brainer. For me, it’s a project. Last weekend, I set out to cross this chore off my to-do list. I spent way too much time searching for the right size Allen wrench before heading to the hardware store to purchase a new one. I returned home in good spirits knowing that my task would soon be complete and I could proceed with my Saturday.

The door handles, it seemed, had other plans for me. My new Allen wrench did not work either and I ended up back at the hardware store and completely frustrated. I had taken the whole darn door handle with me this time, which turned out to be a good move because I learned that I needed a metric measured Allen wrench.

Nothing in life is easy, especially when it pertains to business. I was fortunate to find my niche in sales, and particularly in cold call sales. For me, being in the field was the best. I could leave the office, go on the road, walk in doors, write business, and produce revenue for my company without dealing with the day-to-day back office minutia that I consider drudgery.

No matter what size wrench life threw my way, come Monday I would chuck it all, go into the field, and write business. It was my sport. What a blessing. Don’t get me wrong, selling isn’t easy but every call is a new challenge. For me those challenges were a lot easier than return trips to the hardware store.

The heart of the issue is not so much that nothing is easy, it’s that we just have too much on our plates. Prioritizing becomes difficult and in the process of trying, we run out of gas.

To overcome this dilemma, knock the hard stuff off your to-do list first, while your tank is full. You are fresh in the morning; so hit the ground running. I was always in the field by 7:00 AM. That’s when I was sharpest. My clothes were fresh, I was clean-shaven, and I felt my best. Most importantly, however, is that my odds of running into a decision maker were a hundred times greater at that early hour. Gatekeepers don’t usually arrive before business hours.

The heart of the issue is not so much that nothing is easy, it’s that we just have too much on our plates.So, don’t procrastinate. Head off your challenges. Bite the bear before he bites you, figuratively speaking. Hard things become harder in the afternoon when you’ve already clocked several hours on your brain and miles on your feet.

Remember the old adage, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy wealthy and wise.” The author of that cliché was likely a salesman. At least it makes me feel good to think so.