The world is a tricky place to live. I read a line in the book Thinkertoys the other day that got me thinking. It read:
“There is no way of knowing how far intention and action can take you. This world offers no guarantees, only opportunities and vicissitudes. When you reach for the stars you may not get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either.”
This world offers no guarantees – only opportunities.
Think about that for a moment.
I live just outside of Windsor, Ontario and people are in rough shape here. The situation is the hardest on people who worked hard and sweated for years because of a guarantee, a promise.
They feel that guarantees and promises need to be kept. We’re looking to our governments to enforce those guarantees and bail us out. Can’t blame em, can we?
So what’s left? Where do we turn?
What’s left after we come to the realization that the guarantee wasn’t really a guarantee at all? It was a sham. We bought into it, and they tricked us. Good people got screwed.
What can we do?
Well, we could hope they might have a change of heart. “OK, you’re right. We’re sorry. We’ll reopen the factory and overpay you again, even though we can make the parts 75% cheaper elsewhere.”
We shouldn’t bank on this happening.
Therefore, the only thing left is opportunity.
Opportunities come from ideas, and we’ve all got great ideas. We’re all capable of coming up with a few new ideas.
Take a look at the businesses I read about this week.
Butch Bakery Masculine cupcakes for men. Seriously… I love a cupcake just as much as the next guy; but if I can veto the pink sprinkles for some army camouflage, I’m buying. source – springwise.com
Soupcycle – soups made from organic and local ingredients delivered in an eco-friendly manner – source – springwise.com
Panty by Post – A Canadian company has decided to deliver sexy women’s lingerie on a monthly basis via subscription payment. Brilliant. source – springwise.com
If you’ve been hit by hard times now might be your opportunity to reach for the stars. Remember, there are no guarantees (ZERO), but the world has unlimited opportunities (UNLIMITED).
Unlimited is always a better choice than zero.
Homework:
Your assignment this weekend is to come up with five ideas for businesses or services you could create. Send me a message if you need help with this assignment.
3-2-1 Go
