On bus rides and opportunities...

"Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late of the one that is open" - Alexander Graham Bell

Opportunity is like waiting for a bus ride. When you lose your focus, the bus might have pass in front of you without you knowing it. Thus, making you wait for the next bus to arrive - wasting time, wasting resources and losing your temper. Surely, another bus will come - another vehicle that will take you to your destination. Unfortunately, you can never bring back the wasted time. BUT as another bus arrives, another opportunity for you to correct previous mistakes and another opportunity to get closer to your destination.


How does the previous story relate to the next story? hmm... Go figure it yourself.  (This is just the same as saying,  "I can't think of another paragraph/line to connect them or somehow give transition to both stories." haha. But they're really related, trust me. *winks*)

Got invited by an officemate, Andrew,  in a FREE Business seminar conducted last July 5 - 9, 2010 by the Chinese Filipino Business Club, Inc  in Manila. This event's program got me really thrilled. Imagine rubbing elbows with a lot of successful people, getting crash course on handling finances, getting tips & tricks on sales, gaining wisdom from their experiences, and a lot more, for FREE?! Isn't that a win-win offer? 

I was originally planning to attend this event on its last session, which is scheduled on Friday, by using a 1-day Sick Leave (or rather an "Emergency Leave"..unfortunately, we don't have such. haha.). But come Thursday night, I was still undecided. Why? Because every sick leave consumed equals some amount of cash slashed from the total amount of money I might be receiving at the end of the year. lol. Also, I was simply afraid to go to the seminar. Why? I was so afraid to go there ALONE. I was so afraid to mingle with a lot of STRANGERS. Thus when Friday arrives, I opt NOT to go. Instead, I opt to WORK. Crazy, right?

As I am approaching the workplace, I felt so disappointed. There's this little voice inside my head that's really eager to go to that seminar. This little voice has been bugging me the moment I stepped out of the house, while I was riding the jeepney,  while I was riding the bus and while I was walking to to our office's building. Then, it HIT me. Did I just allow FEAR to affect my decision-making ability? I suddenly remember  Robert Allen's talk at the Intercontinental hotel last January 2010. He told us to ALWAYS LISTEN to that little voice inside our head. Chances are, it's always right. (I'll share some of my notes during his talk on my next blogs. haha. lots of pending blogs. sorry.) 

Our common FEARS according to Robert Allen:

F-ailure

E-mbarassment

A-bandonment

R-ejection

S-uccess (Yes, even success.)

Reality is, FEAR is just equal to:

F-alse

E-xpectations

A-ppearing

R-eal

Why did I allow these "False Expectations Appearing Real" to scare me? As the cliche goes, experience is indeed a great teacher. As I sit in my cube and started [pretended] working, my mind has been bombarded with lots of realizations. I will NOT let this be a wasted experience. There has to be something LEARNED. There has to be something fruitful disguising as a misfortune. I evaluated these realizations and came up with three lessons I gained from this event. (See upcoming blog posts for each lessons).

Lesson #1: Identify the problem.
Lesson #2: Do NOT let FEAR interfere.
Lesson #3: Make DECISIONS often

“Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can - there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.” - Sarah Caldwell