Lone Rangers Are Rarely Happy People

Everybody needs somebody. It's human to need friendship, encouragement and help. As a solo business owner, you can't know everything. It's both an asset and a strength to know when to ask for help.

That's why you need expert advisors you can lean on, resources you can outsource to, and a team you can delegate to. What you can do alone is almost nothing when compared to the compounded results of working with others.

King Solomon (Eccl 4:9-12) put it this way:

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

People who try to do everything alone/on their own, often get themselves into trouble. Here's a memorable story I found in Becoming a Person of Influence by John C Maxwell and Jim Dornan that makes this point. The story was quoted from the insurance claim form a bricklayer submitted when he got hurt at a building site. He was trying to get a load of bricks down from the top floor of the building without asking for help from anyone else. Here's what he wrote:

It would have taken too long to carry all the bricks down by hand, so I decided to put them in a barrel and lower them by a pulley which I had fastened to the top of the building. After tying the rope securely at ground level, I then went up to the top of the building; I fastened the rope around the barrel, loaded it with bricks, and swung it over the sidewalk for the descent. Then I went down to the sidewalk and untied the rope, holding it securely to guide the barrel down slowly. But since I weigh only 140 pounds, the 500 pound load jerked me from the ground so fast that I didn't have time to think of letting go of the rope. As I passed between the second and third floors I met the barrel coming down. This accounts for the bruises and the lacerations on my upper body.

I held tightly to the rope until I reached the top where my hand became jammed in the pulley. This accounts for my broken thumb.

At the same time, however, the barrel hit the sidewalk with a bank and the bottom fell out. With the weight of the bricks gone, the barrel weighed only about 4- pounds. Thus my 140 pound body began a swift descent, and I met the empty barrel coming up. This accounts for my broken ankle.

Slowed only slightly, I continued the descent and landed on the pile of bricks. This accounts for my sprained back and broken collar bone.

At this point, I lost my presence of mind completely, and I let go of the rope and the empty barrel came crashing down on me. This accounts for my head injuries.

And as for the last question on your insurance form, "What would I do if the same situation rose again?" Please be advised I am finished trying to do the job all by myself.

What are you trying to do all by yourself that you could do better, faster, smarter; if you asked for help? Stop trying to be a Lone Ranger doing everything yourself. You can grow your solo business stronger and faster the sooner you begin to ask for help.