What can emperor penguins teach us about business and life?
(Totally normal question, right?)
They can teach us lot, I found out.
I was watching the Netflix series called Our Planet…
If you haven’t seen it… this is a nature documentary about animals and all the cool shit that happens here on Earth.
Well one episode tells a story about emperor penguins…
And there is a powerful lesson all of us can benefit from.
You see emperor penguins have to travel far out to sea to catch food to feed to their kids.
Just like we drive to Whole Foods, grab food, and bring it home…
They have to swim out to sea, grab food, and bring it home. (…not quite the same but you get it.)
Well on this particular trip… these penguins are on their way home when they run into a problem.
Standing between them and their kids is an army of giant seals waiting to eat them as they swim by.
Usually these penguins swim mostly underwater because it takes less energy… but it’s also slow.
And with seals lying in wait… the penguins can’t afford to be slow.
So, what do they do?
They switch their style up… leaping in and out of the water as they swim…
…which makes them faster and much harder for a seal to catch.
Most of the hundreds of penguins made it through the gauntlet of seals without a scratch.
If they had stuck with their typical, comfortable swim style… many of them would have died.
And that’s the principle we can all use in our businesses and lives.
Completing your mission often requires adapting to the environment.
Allow yourself to be flexible… and be open to switching your style up.
Change is scary… but it’s necessary.
The world is constantly changing… and a lot of people suffer ONLY because they refused to change with it.
They stick with the most convenient and comfortable options… and they fail to complete their mission as a result.
So, while it’s important to pay attention to HOW you do things…
I encourage you to pay even more attention to the environment you do things IN.
Be great,
— Marc
P.S. If you’re not currently subscribed to my podcast ON THE MIC: POWER & PRODUCTION FOR ENTREPRENEURS, I would encourage you to get subscribed for FREE today on iTunes or Spotify.
