Company Blog

Paths of resistance

by Adam Zack — August 28, 2024

“CAN’T ANYTHING BE EASY!!??”

Man, my objective in life is to get where I want to go the quickest and easiest way possible. I want to get to the goal line and say “Man, that was easy! I planned it perfectly. The path of least resistance was so simple to navigate.” Yeah, like that ever happens. In fact, when you do achieve an objective with relative ease, the thought is more like “Damn, I was lucky.” The path of least resistance (POLR) goes with the flow, cuts corners and requires the minimum amount of effort. Many solid “C” report cards, 2nd-to-last place teams and also-rans took that path. Woulda-Shoulda, What-If and Almost are famous stops along Route POLR. The natural tendency for anyone is to take the POLR. Not that it’s always the lazy way to go. Crossing the street, riding the train and tying your shoes all benefit from taking the easy route, but the substantial goals in our lives – winning competitions, innovating and changing the world never seem to follow the POLR. The real road to success is littered with I Trieds, Maybe Next Times and It Was Too Hards. Achievement takes work, and work, well, is work. How many times have I said to myself outloud (and others who have been around to hear me bitch) “CAN’T ANYTHING BE EASY!!??” as I flail away at fixing a car, doing a home project or wishing for different results from a marketing campaign. No, nothing that is truly satisfying is easy. The “That was easy” Staples button delivers just what the effort to push it takes, which is nothing worthwhile.