Seven Lessons Learned from George Donner:

Don’t do anything important in a hurry:  Since my earliest years I have tried to do everything fast.  I remember my father praising me for how quickly I could get things done.  I have learned, however, that there can be a cost to being lightning fast.  That cost comes in overlooking something important and in diminished quality.  For Donner and his companions, those 400 miles saved actually prolonged the trip for the few that made it to California.  In their case, being in a hurry - in the end - delayed them.