The History Channel’s Ax Men is a series that follows the job of becoming and being a logger. What comes with the territory is a demanding work environment that requires the workers to constantly be vigilant, know the rules of safety that are essential not only for success but for actual survival, and developing the necessary skill sets to be efficient at the job. Time is money in the logging industry, and one mistake can set a day’s work back one or two more days. While all these are lessons about logging, many of the Ax Men episodes can apply to our daily lives. Here are five more life lessons the show Ax Men teaches us.
1. Learning by doing can be the fastest and easiest way to learn something.
This is a life lesson that has many tentacles because everyone is different so what is the best way to learn will vary from person to person. Another dimension of this life lesson is the learning environment itself. For example, in the video clip there are men and women learning in the outdoors but that is not the best way to learn in an academic or classroom setting. So it depends on what career path you have chosen or what needs to be learned in life. Parenting is best learned by example, actually doing it and working hard to not make any mistakes. Everyone will be using multiple approaches to learning at some time during their lives, so what is important is finding what method is best used for the task in front of you.
2. Instilling confidence in the people around you is essential.
What can be easily overlooked in this video clip is how old grandpa continually encourages and instills confidence in his grandson’s abilities. This extends not only to his operation of the crane, but of his long term future and what he wants to do with his life. He is imparting direction to his grandson, and while it is a TV show and some of the “acting” may be just to keep people interested, there is something to be said for the grandson deciding early on in life what he wants to do. People tend to do what they are good at, and when it comes to career and life choices, the more you do something the greater the confidence level you will have when doing it and dealing with any problems that come up along the way.
3. Teamwork is essential for success.
There is a lot of talk about the importance of family and friends in personal relationships. But these cannot be looked at as separate entities but as a coordinated team that allows everyone to be successful. Often there are internal conflicts that break up families and friendships, and that can extend to business partnerships as well. The reality is that everyone has a specific skill that is needed for the team’s success, whether the team is a family or entrepreneurial business. The classification of a business as a sole proprietorship is basically for people who have a side business or have limited future plans for their business. Most aspiring people know the value of teamwork in and out of the workplace. Any successful personal relationship has the people working for each other’s mutual benefit.
4. Trying to look for a perfect fit in an off the rack world is usually futile.
It seems ridiculous that someone would go to an off the rack store to find the appropriate attire for a dinner date. Unfortunately, many people take that approach to many of their most important life decisions. Unless you have scads of money and can have everything custom made, the reality is you are likely going to have to make some compromises along the way. When it comes to people this is especially true. Whether it is a business partner or a lifetime partner, looking for and finding the perfect person is very likely not to be a real world event. This is not about lowering your expectations or “settling” but about recognizing that the only perfect relationships are found in movies. People change over time, and recognizing the person you commit to will change over time is a foundation for a long term relationship, business or personal.
5. Mistakes are inevitable in the learning process, but some mistakes are bigger than others.
The video clip shows a mistake that had the potential to result in severe physical harm or even death. However, logging is the most dangerous job in the United States, as this clip testifies to. It has been said over and over again that the path to success is often fraught with mistakes. There are two kinds of mistakes, those that are avoidable and those that are not. We do not have 100 percent control over our lives or our situations, so learning from them is always the best path to take. But a mistake that seriously derails you from achieving whatever your goal is bound to be bigger than spilt milk. Being aware of the potential pitfalls in life is best learned from people who have the same or similar experiences.
Though the physical demands of a logger are considerable, watching the Ax Men show also gives you a realistic look at what else is required to not only do the job but simply survive in a challenging environment. Technique is often as important as the task itself, as machinery often does the heavy lifting, a reality that is far removed from logging even 50 years ago. Looking closely at these life lessons, you can apply them to being more than just good at your life skills but actually improve on them. It might require you to take a step back and think about the day or the week, but it will be well worth the time spent and you will learn even more about yourself and where you are headed.
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