Yes, what I am about to describe to you has never happened before.
I am writing this at 3 A.M. on Wednesday. My latest column about timing was posted early yesterday and by late afternoon I had already received a note from a reader in Arizona who told me how much she enjoyed reading the column.
Fast forward to a few minutes ago deep in the middle of the night when my sub-conscience confirmed that yes, it was a good column except I hadn’t gone far enough. That is, as soon as one recognizes that the time is right, it’s critically important they not take time to do a thorough analysis. Instead, they must act right then because once that opportunity appears, it will quickly disappear and never present itself again.
My sub-conscience, however, didn’t stop there. Instead, it persisted with this example to firmly convince me.
Suppose you are driving down the highway and as you glance upward you see a cloud formation that’s so unique and visually striking that you have a sudden urge to take a picture of it. Two quick glances tell you that no one is close behind you and that the berm is more than wide enough for you to safely pull over and stop.
But having everything coming together so fast has caused you to be undecided. Sure, conditions are perfect, the cloud formation is startling but is it really worth the bother of stopping, getting out of the car, and doing the necessary fumbling to get the picture?
While you are struggling to find the answer to that question, the world isn’t waiting. Although only a fraction of a minute has gone by, the cloud has already begun to look less impressive. Not only that, three cars are fast approaching from the rear, so if you decide to pull over, you must do it NOW.
Except, it’s too late. You waited too long. You missed the optimum opportunity. Any picture taken now would be second best. Already you are beginning to regret not stopping when conditions were perfect. Regret then turns to the rationalization that the picture wasn’t really that important which is then followed by the counterpoint that you will never know how important the picture could have been.
In a previous column I wrote about Wade who was in my military basic training company. The rest of us were envious of the speed with which he could size up a situation and take action without being reckless or irresponsible.
After finishing his military duty, Wade went on to live his whole life that way. He set countless examples for his fellow workers on how to get things done quickly and effectively and in memorable fashion.
But back to what happened to me several minutes ago, and I suspect you are already ahead of me. That is, I could have told myself that yes, I should get out of bed and write these words. That’s when I began to debate the question of whether it was worth making that effort.
Clearly, the vivid and highly descriptive point made by my sub-conscious was so perishable that if I waited until morning to share it with you, it not only would be gone, but even worse, I wouldn’t be following my own advice.
Well, and this is now plainly obvious, I did get up.
So here I am explaining that it’s not enough to simply realize the timing is right. We then must act quickly if we are to take advantage of an opportunity that has been opened up to us, one not likely to ever be offered again.
That reader in Arizona touched on that point this way: “Timing was something my dad and I talked about, such as meeting the person you fall in love with and marry. Meet at the wrong time and you might not be at the point you are ready to marry. Even meeting someone depends on timing — you both being ‘there’ at the same time.”
That applies to all of us. Whatever comes at you, after realizing the timing is right, it’s up to you to decide whether to take advantage of it. If Wade were around, he would urge you to do that quickly, then go for it.
Well, as you can tell from this note, I did just that.
Now it’s your turn.
