What got you here may not get you there

There once was a story about a man who, after walking for days, encounters a lake that notwithstanding its daunting width, he considers how he might just have to swim across it, despite the danger. As he ponders his options, he sees a raft on the bank. Relieved, as he wasn’t much of a swimmer, he uses the raft and its paddle to cross the lake.

 Once on the other side, he considers what to do with the raft. After all, you never know when you might encounter another lake, right? So off he goes across the open field of grass, carrying a raft that he will likely never need again, its weight heavy on his shoulders.

 We all have rafts and the reason most of us keep them, never putting them down, is because we know that we wouldn’t be where we are without them. Hey, you never know?

You need the awareness that those rafts that saved you in the past just might be slowing you down on your leadership journey today. They just might be holding you back from the important goals or outcomes you long to achieve. They might not be serving you any longer.

In other words, what got you here, won’t get you there.