Lesson 38: Are you hunting Antelopes of Field Mice?

I have been following some interesting stories of great political strategic thinkers of our time, I came across some interesting story about hunting field mice or Antelopes, this is in reference to Newt Gingrich the governor who heavily supported Trump during last year's' election.

This excerpt is truly defining and distinct, it gives a clear picture of pareto principle and as well as knowing what key task needs to be accomplished to make most of the time available.

Here is the excerpt

" Newt Gingrich is one of the most successful political leaders of our time. Yes, we disagreed with virtually everything he did, but this is a book about strategy, not ideology. And we’ve got to give Newt his due. His strategic ability—his relentless focus on capturing the House of Representatives for the Republicans—led to one of the biggest political landslides in American history.

Now that he’s in the private sector, Newt uses a brilliant illustration to explain the need to focus on the big things and let the little stuff slide: the analogy of the field mice and the antelope. 

A lion is fully capable of capturing, killing, and eating a field mouse. But it turns out that the energy required to do so exceeds the caloric content of the mouse itself. So a lion that spent its day hunting and eating field mice would slowly starve to death. A lion can’t live on field mice. A lion needs antelope. Antelope are big animals. They take more speed and strength to capture and kill, and once killed, they provide a feast for the lion and her pride. A lion can live a long and happy life on a diet of antelope. The distinction is important. Are you spending all your time and exhausting all your energy catching field mice? In the short term it might give you a nice, rewarding feeling. But in the long run you’re going to die. So ask yourself at the end of the day, “Did I spend today chasing mice or hunting antelope?”

The deep message in this story is true in all the things we do on a daily basis, the question we should ask yourself daily , "Are you hunting field mice or Antelopes"?