There is Ground School for pilots in training, so could there be Ground School for geese? Is there even such a thing?
I enjoy being a student of the unexpected. I never know where the next gem of insight will show up. What I am about to share with you is something I learned on the fly . . . pardon the pun.
I have learned that being open to the gifts that may arrive suddenly and by surprise provides space for opportunities to present themselves. On this particular occasion, I found myself drawn to watch the activity of a group of young geese.
I was having a game of golf and at the fifth hole was a pond of water longer than it was wide. I could not help but notice the considerable number of geese in the water.
“That’s rather odd,” I thought to myself. This did not look like one of those times when the parents of this year’s goslings were out for a swim with their brood. It appeared that all the geese, save for one, looked to be about the same size and likely about the same age.
After a little study, I noted that this was a flock of young geese appearing to be swimming in unison . . . well . . . more or less in unison . . . moving across the length of water. Some of the geese were fast, some were slow, and some needed extra time to get upright in the water after performing unintended head-over-heel style flips. Sound interesting? The synchrony of the geese swimming together . . . or trying to…caught our attention so much so that we joined the pairs of spectator geese that had now gathered around the pond, and we watched.
Without warning and without so much as a whisper, something interrupted the geese in the water. The geese began to gather at one end of the pond and then began to make their way across the pond to the other end. They appeared to be following an older lead goose and imitating what the lead goose was doing.
When moving in one direction, they seemed to be floating like hovercraft without moving their wings or creating a ripple in the water. When they arrived at the pond’s edge, some would simply turn around in preparation to go back the way they came. Some would attempt underwater somersaults . . . where . . . more often than not . . . they would tip over sideways, scrambling to keep their bodies upright with their feet in the water. It was funny to watch them trying to carve out a space for themselves . . . not unlike trying to make a space for yourself in a crowded tai chi class.
When the geese were in position in the water and comfortably separated back at the original end of the pond, the leader began flapping his wings and making noise until they were all following along. Then the class began to move across the water with feet propelling them as though they were getting ready to walk on water. When the lead goose reached the other end of the pond, the flapping stopped. The bodies of the goslings settled into the water as they simultaneously turned around and headed back to the other side of the pond in preparation to repeat the exercise. This carried on several times.
From where I was standing, it felt like I was on the observation deck during Goose Ground School training exercises. After all, a few minutes of distraction from playing golf couldn’t hurt.
It became apparent that there was only one explanation for what we saw. This had to be Goose Ground School. The geese born this year were being groomed for their long-haul flight. They were being trained in important goose migration skills like formation take-off, wind-direction assessment and wing muscle-mass development. When the instructor goose leading the pack thought the students had had enough practice for one day, flight class abruptly ended with all the young geese stepping out of the water to join their parents for grazing snacks.
I wish I had had my phone with me so I could have recorded the whole event. How many times have you said, “I wish I had . . .” or “I wish I would have . . .?”
It takes a particular mindset to be open to observing the gift or receiving the information that appears in only that one single moment. Being able to attend a lesson at Goose Ground School that day was an unexpected pleasure. No one minded that we took a few extra minutes at Hole Five to savor the sight.
What does Goose Ground School have to do with getting your business off the ground? For me, it all boils down to an attitude of being open to receiving unexpected gifts that may show up from time to time. Sometimes those gifts are in the form of opportunities happening right before our eyes. We have but to pay attention.
Opportunities to do business are everywhere. Sometimes you simply have to get in the water. Sometimes you have to take flight lessons to get your business off the ground . . . and sometimes you find ways to delegate certain tasks to others who are experts at what they do and who can lighten your load.
Sometimes in business and in life . . . that’s all it takes . . . a consultant, an expert, a teacher, a mentor, a coach—someone who will share their experience and enrich our abilities to take advantage of life’s unexpected gifts and achieve success.
By Donna Dahl
Donna Dahl, M. Ed., MNLP, is a leading executive strategist and catalyst for change. Through her neuroscience-based coaching, she is well-poised to disseminate skill development, empowerment, and engagement. Donna has an award-winning track record, and she is the author of Lessons I Learned from the Tortoise, a five-star rated book designed to challenge the reader to consider mindful change. She welcomes discovery calls.