Success When Preparation Meets Opportunity – Our Unplanned Day

Success when preparation meets opportunity can be illustrated when what seems to be luck manifests itself.No Shortage of Dear

Yesterday, Rhonda and I just took a day off. We had plenty of things we could have done, but we just recently came into a position of a little increased cash flow.

We both were in the mood to act on impulse. We had seen TV  commercials of steak and lobster deals at a well-known restaurant featuring a country, recently known for outbreaks of fires. We decided to go to that restaurant..

We like where we live, but we would have to drive 60 miles to get to that  restaurant for the TV deal.

Our Great Unplanned Day

We just took off.

Working from home and being your own boss is great!

The sky was overcast. We could have taken the fastest route, which would have been Interstate 57 and Interstate 24. We were headed to Paducah, Ky.

We decided, rather, to take the scenic route. In fact we just drove in the general direction of our destination. There is no shortage of deer in Southern Illinois. Speaking of the steakhouse we were going to, we previously visited the country it is known for. That was several years ago, but we were surprised to see that kangaroos were just as plentiful there as the deer are here.

We did see some deer. We saw some parts of our countryside that made us feel a little like Daniel Boone when he said, “No, I was never lost, but I was a might bewildered once for three days.” I kept singing, “Three-hour tour” (If you know about Gilligan’s Island, you will get that.)” Finally, we turned on the GPS and confirmed that we were going to end up on a familiar road again.

We did have some general ideas of what we wanted to accomplish. I needed a new suit, and we remembered a clothing store there where I had bought one abut 20 years ago. We knew it was still there because it had advertised on TV too.

I went there and found one. They held it for us while we went to eat lunch.

Then we went to a couple of home improvement stores and found some new stick-on plank flooring. We are going to use it in our bathroom.

We did have a good meal, but, most of all, we just enjoyed the day together.  We checked prices on suits and went to the Kentucky Oaks Mall. We went back and bought that first suit I tried on. We even did something exciting like grocery shopping.

Vacation Unplanned Days

Unplanned days can be really great. In fact, when we go on vacation, we usually try to plan to have an unplanned day. Lot’s of times we end up playing miniature golf, but it is not necessarily planned. Sometimes, many times, those are the highlights of the trip.

I have a friend who tells about the time he and his wife just started driving west. They had a several-day vacation without any planning at all. I’m not sure they recommend that all the time or for everyone, but they said they had a wonderful time on that particular occasion.

One year, when our children were small, I had a trip planned for work. The week before it was supposed to take place, the organizers cancelled the business event. It just happened to be during the spring break for school. The kids were off. I was scheduled to be off. I suddenly turned to Rhonda and said, “Let’s go to Disney World!” Rhonda looked a little surprised, but she agreed. We packed and left. At that time we lived only 8 hours away. It tuned out to be a fabulous vacation.

The Value of Rest

Unplanned days can be great for rest and relaxation. What is the value of working so hard toward your goals (which are extremely important) if you don’t get to enjoy life along the way?

Rest and getting way from stress can also be great rebuilders for increased productivity when you get back in the swing of things.

Success When Preparation Meets Opportunity

Sometimes it looks like “luck” when we obtain success.

Rhonda and I went to the Kentucky Opry two or three years ago. It featured some young musicians. The MC of most of their programs teaches some music, and several of his students were on the stage. He, on more than one occasion, called on some of them to jump in on some of the songs unrehearsed. They did very well. He made the statement, “Success comes when preparation meets opportunity.”

Sometimes opportunity presents itself when you don’t really expect it. That is why you need to be ready at all times.

When you learn new techniques, you may not be very good at using them at first, but when you keep trying, you improve. If you continue long enough, you get to where you are actually good at utilizing those techniques.

Rodney Miller and Jann Carl are the co-hosts of a great TV program called, Small Town Big Deal. They tell of going into many meetings trying to gain sponsors or investors. They were turned down many times, but their attitude is, “No meeting is a bad meeting.” They say they always learn something. They learn new ways to pitch their ideas. They get smoother at making their presentations. Every meeting is an opportunity to improve, to prepare more. Eventually, they had more positive results with many of their meetings.

The point is, in your business, you just need to keep preparing. Many successful business coaches have evaluated other businesses. While no one can predict the future, these experienced entrepreneurs observed the failing business, and they were convinced that the failed businesses were very close to success. Because of their own experience of staying with it until things turned around, these evaluators have a reason for thinking others were very close to reaching their goals.

Conclusion

Prepare, and you will be ready when opportunity comes.

On the way to success, though, take some time to enjoy yourself. You can get to the place where you can enjoy some unplanned days.

If you would like know more about some more business tips like these, click here. If you interested in some great training that would help you to be prepared to meet opportunity, check this out.

I would like to know your ideas about this. Have you had some good unplanned days? Have you had unexpected opportunities come your way? Please let me know in the comments section below.

6 Replies to “Success When Preparation Meets Opportunity – Our Unplanned Day”

  1. Hello, I really want to first appreciate your effort in putting this great website together and writing this article. Success is the desire of every individual, although it might be in different context. Growing up, my dad always told me to be prepared for anything and believe me the tips you have dropped here will go a long way to help me

  2. Success is possible, success is a reality. But only people who have worked and prepared for it receive the blessings of success in life. 

    You see some people who are making it, some are not. And you wonder what makes the successful people different than the other. Is there a difference among them? The difference is that they have done the right things along the way. They have got themselves well prepared for the success they now enjoy. 

    1. Thanks, I hope all our own preparations pay off in such a way, we can enjoy more unplanned days, and that our preparation will meet opportunity.

  3. Thanks a lot for sharing with us this amazing article. Success comes when you expect less but it represents the reflection of our actions. I was lucky and had an amazing opportunity a few months ago. It was because at work, I was not very satisfied and was getting more and more bored with what I was doing, Without doing anything, I received a phone call, and I was called for an interview. This was an unexpected opportunity, and I’m glad I took advantage of it. If at first I was scared when everything started from scratch, now I can say that I am very satisfied, and success has found me.
    Thanks once again for this wonderful article.

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