“Shaving the Yak” What does that mean?
Shaving the Yak is an idiom. It represents and unexpected last step in a series of steps to finish a process.
Seth Godin puts it like this:
“Oops, the hose is still broken from the winter. I’ll need to buy a new one at Home Depot.”
“But Home Depot is on the other side of the Tappan Zee bridge and getting there without my EZPass is miserable because of the tolls.”
“But, wait! I could borrow my neighbor’s EZPass…”
“Bob won’t lend me his EZPass until I return the mooshi pillow my son borrowed, though.”
“And we haven’t returned it because some of the stuffing fell out and we need to get some yak hair to restuff it.”
And the next thing you know, you’re at the zoo, shaving a yak, all so you can wax your car.
An action is never perfect. If it was, then it was probably so far behind the time it was needed that it’s now irrelevant. Just start where you are and improve a little each time.
“I need to get back into the box.”
“But I really don’t want to be breathless after one minute of a workout…I should run for a couple weeks to get back in some shape first.”
“But I have this plantar fasciitis. I need to ice my calves and elevate my feet on a pillow.”
“But that pillow is too soft and needs more stuffing…”
And then, you’re shaving a yak.
Wash the car, and figure out the hose thing later.
Book a No-Sweat Intro, and your coach will help you figure out the rest as you go.
