One Comes Along Every Ten Minutes.
I had the privilege of seeing Marianne Williamson in Detroit. She was speaking about her book, The Law of Divine Compensation and talked about missed opportunities.
She believes that they are not missed forever, but held onto by the Universe for another time and place in the future when one is ready to embrace them. If that is true, wouldn’t that take the pressure off of all of us?
To me, it would be like a bus that comes along every ten minutes. Miss the first and you know another one is on its way. You don’t panic. You wait, as if you knew for certain that it was guaranteed that you would get a yes after a certain number of no’s. It is not a matter of whether you will get a yes, just a matter of when. I feel the blood pressure dropping already.
Whether you are struggling in sales, the dating world, getting your kids to listen to you, finding the piece of missing data for your thesis or finding opportunities to showcase your artistic talent, there would be no need for stress. You missed this opportunity? There will be another one in ten minutes. A prospect said no? Only ten more no’s to go before you are going to get a yes, so keep on calling. You won’t get discouraged, telling yourself it is never going to happen, because you are confident that every no brings you one step closer to yes. Struggle is gone. Life becomes easy.
I have had a long career in business and a short career in writing.
As I look back, I found that opportunity did come along again and a yes was always found amongst the no’s. I started in the financial world cold calling clients back before caller ID and the standard answering machine made that obsolete. I realized that I booked an appointment on average every ten calls. As I became more experienced, the number of calls needed for a yes went down. Knowing this, when someone said no, I didn’t panic. I just thought I am one more no closer to a yes. It worked. I wasn’t pressured. I was relaxed. People noticed. They asked questions. They liked my answers. I got appointments.
As an author and freelance writer, I would be devastated by missed opportunities. I am a rookie. I assumed missed means gone forever. I found that when I persevered and worked hard for new opportunities, one would come along, just like being at a bus stop. If you work hard to get yourself to the right place, a bus, an opportunity, will come along. You just got to get there.
Instead of being anxious and ready to knock over anyone to get an opportunity, I am at ease. The knowing is the gift. It is the knowing that opportunity is coming, I just have to be there, ready for it. It is the knowing that every no has a yes somewhere nearby. All I need to do is my best, put it out there, start asking, put myself at the bus stop and wait. It will come. It always does.
Read more posts by Darlene Butts. Darlene is a blogger for JenningsWire.
