If you only had 127 hours, what would you do?

If you only had 127 hours, what would you do?

What uncomfortable viewing that was for a Sunday evening! I was curious to know how you could make a whole film out of the story of a poor man who fell down a crevice and found his arm wedged between two rocks.  I already knew the ending – at least he survived – but I really wanted to know exactly how long it would take to saw your own arm off. 

I was gripped, (unintentional pun), by the different stages the poor climber went through.  Firstly, there was disbelief, then a desperate futile attempt to free it by hacking the stone with a key, followed by a rational moment where he took stock of all his resources. He gauged the immediate threat, found a solid footing to support himself and drank some water.  Then he started to think about slightly longer term needs – rationing food and water – and using every piece of fabric he could to cover his body and maintain the heat. In stages he added tourniquets to his trapped arm, preparing for the drastic, last resort act of severing it. Throughout the ordeal dreams alternated with flashbacks and visions that comforted and motivated and sometimes scared him.

You couldn’t fail but to be in awe of this man’s mental and physical resourcefulness. Which got me thinking, at a much more everyday level, what would you do if you only had 127 hours to save your business and livelihood?  You could take a very big leaf out of Aron Ralston’s book. Apart from not going it alone,   

1. Recognise the reality of the situation, preferably before it’s critical

2. Work out how to get onto a solid footing – secure financing and help

3. Identify all the resources you have and others you can call upon

4. Use these resources to solve your immediate needs

5. Start to think longer term – projections, budgets, cost efficiencies

6. Tap into your motivation – picture a potential future much brighter than this one and hold onto it for dear life.