We’ve all marveled at some of those beautiful close-up photos; you know, the ones of magnificent detailed objects that we may pass over daily but never took the time really examine. Maybe it’s a photo of a dew drenched blade of grass, the petal of some exotic species of flower, or even a shot of luminous rays of sunlight bursting through a sharply cut precious stone. But take the time to look closer. Though the subject of the photograph is quite clear, everything that surrounds it is blurred and unrecognizable. That’s how our vision in life can be at times. We can become so focused on our brilliant plans, our lifelong dreams, what we are expected or have been raised to become, or even the latest goal we have that we can lose sight of other opportunities that present themselves. Sure, it’s important to have a plan. The old saying states, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” This is so true. Yet, let’s embrace reality for a few moments; how many of our well thought out and even well funded plans actually panned out to what we originally envisioned? At the end, it wound up along the lines of some hybrid of Plan A, Plan F, and some other crap we didn’t even think of but glued it together anyway so that we would not be completely empty-handed. Then, we just prayed and hoped—and prayed again—and cursed—and wondered if it would work. Does this sound like your business idea, the house you’ve been building, that car collecting dust in your garage you’ve been pouring money into—maybe your marriage?
No matter what, we’ve all been there. What we plan and what we get are oftentimes not even distant cousins. But that is part of the beauty and blessings of life. How many times have we been travelling on the path to our self-appointed destiny and then we serendipitously “stumble” into that idea, that job, that class, or even that person that changes the direction and purpose of our lives? Then, once we relax our focus a bit and see the new opportunity, we then have to muster the courage to release the old thoughts and make changes. So, once we do this, we realize that what we thought was a vision that we were carrying was actually a burden. Sometimes these types of burdens are the expectation of parents, family, society, friends, or even a case of us tenaciously clinging to the ambitions of our youth—that we long ago outgrew. We don’t want to disappoint those around us or have to come home halfway through college and explain to everyone that we decided to do something else and appear a failure. Therefore, we just focus harder, and the misery begins.
It’s all about focus—you can focus too much. Have you ever tried to thread a needle? Of course. You must close one eye, focus intensely on that small hole at the top of the needle (the “eye” ironically), and then somehow work the frayed end of it through. Once you finally accomplish this feat after many tries, you feel that scaling Mount Everest is next—OK, maybe not, but you feel victorious nonetheless. Anyway, you noticed how the task at hand forced you to focus so intensely that the only thing clear within your field of vision was the eye of the needle and the end of the thread—everything else became a blurred mesh of colors. This is what happens in life. We can become so focused on our goals or ambitions that much better opportunities—life altering opportunities--become lost in the blurred background. And the sad part is that we often only notice these long gone opportunities when they are permanently out of reach. I would even venture to say that some of the best opportunities are the ones that challenge our original plans. They are the ones that suggest we adjust, deviate, or even change directions completely. I am not proposing that you drop everything and move to a remote part of the Earth to go dig wells for the rest of your life or that you leave the office right now and find the nearest military recruiter. I am saying that even though you have plans and you are intent of reaching those goals—always keep your options open and don’t be afraid to seize new opportunities, even if those opportunities require you to put your preset plans on hold for a while, or even abandon them altogether. Don’t be afraid to try something new or expand your limits and redefine your expectations of yourself. Be honest with yourself if something is not working or fulfilling you.
Besides procrastination, fear is one of the greatest thieves in the universe. Many people allow fear to dictate to them what they can and cannot do. How many people rejected opportunities for promotion, ran from potentially great relationships, or avoided situations that demanded more responsibility because they were scared of failure, pain, rejection, etc. This is tragic. The truth is, the world needed these people and they permitted their personal fears to rob us all. Imagine if Martin Luther King Jr. allowed fear to limit himself to become just another Black American pastor, or if Barak Obama was satisfied being another law professor because he was convinced the American Presidency was reserved for privileged Whites, or if Hillary Clinton simply believed that being a former President’s wife carried enough advantage and influence in and of itself. None of these people limited themselves, and when opportunity was presented, when the spark of possibility erupted, they seized it. Michael Jordan was cut from his High School varsity basketball team, Bill Gates dropped out of college (Harvard), and Oprah Winfrey was told that she didn’t have what it took to become successful in television—yet none of these people limited themselves or their options. Yes, they were focused on their goals and they all achieved success. However, in each case they all exceeded their original plans because they all noticed other opportunities and pounced upon them. MJ made more money from shoes and merchandise than he did playing basketball—he even starred in an animated movie (though his acting was horrible), Oprah herself acted in movies and did a bit more than host a daily TV show (if you know what I mean), and Bill Gates has moved way beyond building personal computers and he’s even involved in trying to make enormous impacts in the lives of the less fortunate the world over. Put simply, they kept their options open.
Do the best with the opportunities that you do have and you will see other doors open for you. Remain committed to your plan, but don’t let your focus become so strong that it blinds you from other potential things placed in your life. Never let fear rob you of taking chances to walk through life-changing doors. Tyler Perry started out simply writing plays and performing them to empty auditoriums, as a child Cassius Clay (AKA Muhammad Ali) learned to box from a policeman because someone stole his bicycle, and a man by the name of Malcolm X found his calling while languishing in a Massachusetts state prison while serving time and after living life as a drug addict, common thief, and numbers runner. In life, it’s not all about what you can see, because what you don’t see is usually where your destiny is found.
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