If you're into coffee and grind your own beans, you are always watching out for channels. What are channels?

When you brew coffee, water is passes through your grounds and extracts that delicious elixir of life we know as "coffee." However, if you grind your beans too coarse or too fine, water will find (or create) "channels" that allow it to flow more freely without passing through your coffee. That's no bueno. Why?

Because your coffee will suck and your morning will be ruined!

Water takes the easiest and most natural path towards its end - through your coffee via channels or passing through the grounds, it's going to get to where it's going via the most natural path possible.

Be like water.

There is a path that will take you from where you are to where you want to go. It's not the "easy" path, it's the "natural" path. The natural path to becoming an effective musician is to practice your instrument. The natural path to becoming an effective leader is to practice listening, collaborating, and making decisions. The natural path to becoming a more effective you is to get comfortable being uncomfortable being you.

The easy path is the one with shortcuts - not doing the work, avoiding the problems, or escaping from the problems all together. Water doesn't do that. Water creates the most natural path for it to flow.

Be like water.
Find the natural path.
Don't ruin your coffee.