Opportunities and Obstacles

    The overload of this week's schedule put me behind in the A-to-Z Challenge.  Having started for a new full time employer immediately after presenting at the Western Academy of Management, commitments serving other organizations through mid-May still exist and I value integrity too high to just abandon them.

    Within the contract at the new organization was a goal to reach $4.1 million in sales by August 31st.  It's clear now after three weeks that we'll pass that number in 30 days. My first impression is of gratitude to God for the opportunity, but also an understanding that seeing anything as an opportunity or an obstacle is a choice, just like attitude and happiness.  After all generating that volume of new clients creates paperwork and follow through for teams of individuals in other locations and ongoing follow up by me to ensure what's been promised is delivered.  That is the nature of all businesses whether service or manufacturing related.
    
     As we finished an 8 hour seminar on Bridges out of Poverty concepts at Andrews University Friday my cohort asked the professionals and graduate students how they felt.  "Overwhelmed by the injustices and problems we face in American society and how much change is needed to solve this," was one response.  That led to two key thoughts:  Chuck Swindoll's infamous quote about Attitude, and one of my life quotes from Edward Everett Hale.

     All opportunities not only have obstacles, at one point they were obstacles that someone choose to look at from a different angle, with a different heart and spirit, or with a different team.  Getting angry, complaining, gossiping or whining won't solve what's in front of us any more than saying "OK" but walking away mumbling and doing nothing. That also doesn't mean that devil's advocates or naysayers should be ignored.  Often to get to productive solution we need their input to understand the resistances and overcome them. Yet choosing to not become overwhelmed by external and internal obstacles to change will not only keep us personally healthier in terms of stress, it will get us to a better solution before more damage is done.