Welcome to July. I love first days. I love beginnings. My favorite parts of a trip are the planning and the journey. Usually, once the destination is gained I am ready to get back on the road again. No wonder my resume reads like an occupational classifications guide–I yearn for the adventure of moving on. The inspiration for this introspective thinking was reading the first chapter of Rene Godefroy’s excellent book, Kick Your Excuses Goodbye. It was my before bed reading last night and Rene’s insistence that “The first requirement of getting what you want in life is to know precisely what you want” (pg. 10). I was reminded of the beginnings of this blog–my desire was not to idolize Paul Potts, but to study how it was that he got his One Chance and began to live the life of his dreams. Is that possible for you and me?

I went back a year, to July 2nd of 2007, and my post entitled What’s the Plan? I was excited about the “18 Vows of Success” found in Og Mandino’s Part II: The End of the Story sequel to his classic work The Greatest Salesman in the World. Here is what I said one year ago:

The methodology of Part II: The End of the Story is to work through a set of life principles (”scrolls”), taking them one per week. No doubt, many of you are familiar with the first Greatest Salesman book by Og. This is the same approach, but a different set of scrolls…the protagonist (Hafid) has matured. I have found that, by doing as recommended and sticking with one principle for the entire week, the idea takes hold, clarifies, and becomes a part of the reader’s consciousness.

I was reminded of the excitement going on then–a plan was developing. I felt as if I was going somewhere on purpose…but then I got busy. Things happened: Our Sarasota house needed fixing up in preparation for a new renter. We decided to leave Florida and head north. I took a teaching position at a little mission outpost. The house we moved into needed cleaning and repair…ad infinitum. Yes, I have remained active, very active, but my sense of direction is pulled this way and that. I’m feeling a bit dizzy. It’s time to regroup and reconsider.

Think about it, if Paul Potts had gotten sidetracked and failed to enter the Britain’s Got Talent contest last year he would still be barely making it and we would not know his name. He took his One Chance when it came to him. Will we? Or will we be so busy that we don’t recognize it?