One of my favorite stories, I often share this with wanabee or newbie consultants. It goes like this:

Pat and Mike are out in the woods hunting. They hear a lot of noise in the brush, and suddenly a bear appears fifty yards away.

They decide to run. But after a few yards, Pat stops, drops his backpack, and removes his heavy boots.

Mike says, “Fool, you can’t outrun the bear that way.”

To which Pat replies, “I don’t have to outrun the bear. I just have to outrun YOU.” (With apologies to me Irish friends and ancestors.)

Yes, it is an old story, and a bit corny too. But it does capture the essence of what we do as consultants. You don’t need to know everything about everything — you just need to know enough to help your clients.

Too many people worry about the bear. Rather than jump in, they hold back. They already know enough to be a successful consultant, but they keep spending more time and more money on more seminars, more workshops, more books, more programs, more CDs, more DVDs, or more ???

And there are plenty who feed on those insecurities — particularly in the on-line world.  Ever wonder why they aren’t out there doing it for themselves?

In fairness, there are a few (VERY few as near as I can tell) who have actually done what they promote, and who are willing to share what they know at a reasonable price (sometimes even for free.) Those are the ones you want to follow and learn from!

No, you don’t need to outrun the bear. But you do need to get into the hunt. And best to do so with those who already know how to hunt, and how to outrun the other guy in the first place.

Happy hunting!

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