Has Your Chance Passed?

As I was driving with my family one day I saw an ice cream store ahead. I asked if they would like to stop and get some ice cream. They played around for a while and finally said, “Yes.” I said too late, I’ve already passed it!”
- Bertha Clark

Has Your Chance Passed?

Have you ever thought your chance has passed you by? There have been times when I thought this was my plight and when I was talking with some friends last week I knew I wasn’t the only one who has had this experience.

We were talking about some of the challenges that life has thrown our way and I said, “You know, I always think I’m prepared for what may come but I have to tell you, when something does happen I’m never as prepared I thought I was and then I find myself hoping that the challenge is just another “warning shot” so I’ll have time correct the problem.” I guess the truth is that no matter what happens there are always small warnings that come my way, I just have to watch for them and then begin to make adjustments. But, I can tell you that most of the time I spend a lot of time ignoring signs when they appear.

When I said that, my friend Dwight Clark laughed and said, “When some of my grand children were in town visiting once, my wife was out running errands with them in the car when she saw an ice cream store ahead. She asked if they would like to stop and get some ice cream. As kids do, they were playing around in the car so it took them a few moments to respond. When they wanted to stop, she said, too late, I’ve already passed it.”

I’m sure the kids were disappointed at the result of their delay. I feel their pain because I’ve faced the same kind of disappointment many times. But, the advantage I have now is that when this kind of disappointment comes my way I know, through experience, that there will be another ice cream store just up the road! I’d like to give you an example of one friend who really understood this principle when her life changed dramatically.

Marlene Noda had been working in the same position for many years when she found out her employer was making a change that meant she was going to lose her job. As you can imagine that caused her to have pause as to what was going to happen in her life.

One of the things I love about Marlene is that she is able to use all of her assets to her advantage. And, she used this job loss in the same way. Marlene used this forced change in her life to think about what she really loved to do and then go for it. She became a Sushi Chef and began to use her new skills in two different restaurants. Today she is the proprietor of her own restaurant and is recognized as one of the best Sushi Chefs in the Salt Lake City Area. Had she not lost her old job, chances are small that she would have made this amazing change in her life.
There are few things I can guarantee about your life, but I can guarantee one. Change will constantly come. When it does you will be have great opportunity if you’ll but look for it. So here are a couple of small suggestions:

First, look at big changes as big opportunities. If you’re like me at all, you tend to get fairly comfortable with life as is currently is. That isn’t a big motivator for change. I also tend to get pretty upset when things don’t fit my “picture” of how things should be. But, now I’ve found that by viewing disruption as an opportunity, my ability to work through it successfully is greatly enhanced.

Second, have faith in your ability to adapt. Earlier I said that I was never as prepared as I thought I was. Well, that’s only partly true. I’ve developed some skill at being adaptable and it has served me well. My friend Brad Bertoch calls this skill the ability to be a “survivor.” I saw an entire book written about this ability the other day and look forward to reading it. You can’t be prepared for everything, but you can have faith that you will be able to successfully navigate through anything that will come.

Third, now that you have faith in your ability to deal with things as they come up, add a little bit more to that faith. Know that others, and a higher source, will always be there to help you though things. Being a good person means that people love you and they will do more for you than you ever hoped if you just ask for help and give them a chance.

Finally, live the “Every Twenty Minutes Principle.” Know that another train comes to your stop every twenty minutes on average! If you miss one train, another one will come along in just a few minutes! Expect this to be the case for you and your opportunities. You will always have chances! In fact if you look back through your life you’ll find that you’ve had more than one, two or three chances. You’ve had many chances.

And, you’ll have lots more chances in your life, now and in the future. You may lose the chance to have a particular ice cream cone from one particular store, but you’ll have the chance to have another ice cream cone from another store, which will be just as good, if not better, if you just keep driving. Your chance hasn’t passed; it’s just a little further up the road!