12/17/2025
Getting Where You Want to Go…Even in the Wrong Gear (Reflections from 2025)
In business - and in life - we’re all trying to get somewhere. A goal, a next step, a breakthrough. And often, we obsess over having the right gear before we even start.
The right timing. The right strategy. The right tools. The right support.
But some of the best lessons I’ve learned about progress didn’t come from boardrooms. They came from bikes, engines, and the dusty corners of a dirt track.
My family is big into motors and wheels. My husband has a love for cars - old classics, new speedsters, anything with horsepower and a story. My son grew up on dirt bikes, and I was right out there with him - boots on, helmet strapped, dust in my teeth, being the active mom who could actually keep up.
One day at the track, my husband and I were helping the little kids around corner 2. If you’ve ever watched a 5 - 7 year-old try to ride a dirt bike, it’s a perfect mix of bravery, chaos, and comedy. Their tiny engines would stall out at the exact same spot every time. Wrong gear, not enough momentum, not the “ideal” technique.
But here’s the part that stuck with me:
They still made it around the corner. Sometimes with a push. Sometimes with a restart. Sometimes dragging the bike a few feet until it caught again. But they kept going - completely unbothered by the fact that they weren’t doing it “perfectly.”
That memory came back to me recently when one of my team members - who is in his 50s - admitted he never learned how to shift gears on a bicycle. Instead of letting that stop him, he rides a single-speed mountain bike. No gears. No adjustments. No optimizing for hills or speed.
And yet…
He still gets exactly where he needs to go. Every time. Without excuses. Without overthinking it.
It made me realize how often we, as leaders and business owners, convince ourselves that we can’t move forward until conditions are perfect:
• “Once things slow down, I’ll…”
• “When I have a better system, I’ll…”
• “After I hire one more person, I’ll…”
• “When the timing is right, then I’ll…”
But the truth is, some of the most resilient people - and resilient businesses - are the ones who move forward anyway:
• In the wrong gear
• With an imperfect start
• With a stall or two
• With a push from someone who believes in them
• And sometimes on a metaphorical single-speed bike
Progress doesn’t demand perfection. It demands persistence. Even at Truest Law we have to take this into account almost daily.
Whatever your “corner 2” looks like right now - the project you’ve been putting off, the new skill you’re nervous to learn, the business shift you know you need to make - don’t wait for everything to align.
Shift if you can. Push if you must. Restart when needed. Ask for a hand when the hill is steep.
But above all…
Keep moving. Because forward is forward, no matter which gear you’re in.
-Donna Jewett | Owner / Attorney Truest Law
