Every mountain bike trail that I have ridden includes at least one bridge to get over.

Think about bridges for a second. What are they there for? 

Bridges are built to help us get over a stream or a gulley. Streams run downhill and cut a path through the landscape. This means that a stream is most usually the lowest spot around.

So what happens when you cross a bridge mountain biking? Unless the trail turns and follows the stream downhill you’ve got a hill to ride up.

For some reason, this took me by surprise the first few times I rode the trails. I would focus on the bridge and make sure that I was riding in the middle which would cause my speed to drop. Then, once I was across the bridge, I wouldn’t have the momentum to get all the way up the hill. Many times I ended up having to hop off the bike and push it the rest of the way up.

One time while riding over a particularly tricky bridge, it dawned on me. The same thing happens in business. 

Use Your Momentum For The Next Project

You finish one project and start across the bridge to the next big goal. Many times you coast across the bridge and by the time you get across you’ve lost your momentum from the last project.

In business, it happens because you spend all your time working in the business instead of on the business. When this is going on you don’t take time to check the pulse of the business, (are you going fast enough), and haven’t checked out or created a map of where you’re going. You don’t know where the bridges and hills are going to show up.

It’s common sense that the best time to look at the map is before you enter the woods. The time for planning is before you get on the trail, not when you’re on the bridge.

When you finish a project take a breath, look around but keep pedaling!