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OK, get your minds out of the gutter (you know who you are) and let’s talk about luck as it pertains to your business. The Roman philosopher, Seneca, is credited with the saying “Luck Is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity.” You need both of these to ‘get lucky’; however, the preparation part comes first. You have to do the work, learn the skills, invest in your success, and then, be on the lookout for opportunity.

Life is a highway
If your life path has been like mine, it hasn’t been a straight line. Far from it. Mine is a series of zigs and zags, fueled by opportunities. You’ve probably heard the expression “being in the right place, at the right time.” Well, I believe that we’re all right where we’re supposed to be, all the time. Opportunity is all around us. That’s why some businesses are succeeding, while others – in the same market and category – are faltering or failing. Whether it’s opting to pass on opportunities, or not seeing them, the result is still the same. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Your competitors are getting lucky. They’re simply seeing, or seizing, opportunities that you didn’t. We all can get blinded by our day to day obligations. Our ability to see the opportunities is overshadowed by answering email, taking the kids to school and paying the bills. The easiest thing to do is to keep your blinders on, and avoid the opportunities. Why? Because taking action requires time, and money, and personal capital – What will others think of you? How will this affect your family, and current customers? etc.

You can’t connect the dots looking forward
If you haven’t already seen it, I recommend that you watch Steve Jobs’ commencement address at Stanford University, in 2005. It’s often called the ‘connect the dots’ speech. He talks about how we can’t connect the dots in our lives looking forward. However, looking back, we can see how each step led to the next. That’s my life in a nutshell. Looking back, my seemingly unrelated ‘dots’ have clearly led to one another. Whether they were ‘sales-related’ dots, or personal dots, they clearly connect in hindsight.

What I’ve found is that I don’t actively look for the next ‘dot’. Rather, I go about my days knowing that opportunities will present themselves. I don’t know where, and I don’t know when, I just know that – as they have in the past – they will appear. I don’t want to get all ‘new-age’ on you, but my uncle once told me that I’m pushing too hard. He said to pull back on my availability, and let it come to me. I wasn’t immediately sure what he meant, but over time it became clearer. I can feel when I’m trying too hard. I feel the resistance. But, when I pull back, I can feel the attraction.

You gotta believe
Now, whether you believe in a universal energy, or the laws of attraction, in karma, it doesn’t matter. What matters is whether you really believe in yourself and your ability. When I started in the wedding industry, it was a leap of faith. My friend called to say that he had bought a franchise of a wedding magazine, and he wanted me to come and sell for him. The position was as an independent contractor, commission-only, no salary, no base, and no draw against commissions. If I made a sale, I got paid. If I didn’t, I got nothing. That, in itself, requires a belief in oneself. To complicate the decision, my wife was pregnant with our second son, and our first son was only 3 years old. I had to return my company car, and buy a car, so I could go out on the road – every day – and sell advertising in our wedding magazine.

That pressure required a leap of faith; but, I was confident in my skill as a salesperson. I have never worried about providing for my family. There have been good times, and bad, but we’ve always had a roof over our heads and food on the table. How confident are you in your skills? I’m fortunate that my skill is in sales, but I have to have skills in the services I provide, to back that up. Yours might be the opposite. Your skill, and passion, may be in photography, or culinary arts, or transportation, officiating, or something else. You need to back those skills up with business skills, so you can get to follow your passion.

Vision test
As you look back at your dots, can you also see the ones you skipped? Can you see the opportunities you passed on, or the ones you see now, that you didn’t see at the time? Did you pass on an opportunity because, at the time, you thought it was too expensive? Do you now see that you missed out on the possible return, because you didn’t make the investment? Reflecting on those opportunities taken, and skipped, can give you a clearer vision to see the next opportunity. What opportunities are around you, right now? Which ones have you passed on, that you might just want to look at again? Take a look behind you for clarity. Then look forward, because we can’t change the past, but we can change how we look towards our future. Who knows, you just might get lucky!


Need help seeing the opportunities around you, or guidance in seeing if they fit with your grand plan? I can help you, as I have with lots of your industry colleagues, like these:

Our wedding dates have more than doubled since last year!  Your help and direction are a huge part of that increase!  You rock, Alan, and you can quote me on that!”
Lisa Rene, Lisa Rene Band, Downers Grove, IL

“Alan is amazing! I am listening to his webinars for years and never even thought we can approach him because he is too big to even consider spending time with us and teaching us his strategy or approach in this industry. On the contrary, he is a normal person, fun and friendly 🙂 Very knowledgeable, professional and it felt like he knew our business and the struggles we go through better than us. We got so much information that is going to bring our business to the next level. We’ll have to go to work and make the changes ASAP. Thank you so much Alan for everything!”
Mugu Radu, Philadelphia String Quartet, Philadelphia, PA

Call, email or use the short form on this page to see how I can help you, 732.422.6362, international enquiries 001 732 422 6362

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