I learned an important life lesson during a canoe trip through Canada as a teenager. Periodically, our group of voyageurs would have to execute a portage: taking our vessels and gear overland from one body of water to another. Those days weren’t a lot of fun: you had to place your pack and a 100 pound canoe on your shoulders, and then march for a mile or two. Upon finishing the journey, you were expected to double back to carry tents and provisions. Being the calculating person that I am, I realized that if I took my time carrying the canoe, others would return for the tents, saving me a second trip.