Opportunity is How You Look at Things

I heard a funny story about the power of seeing things from different perspectives. Today I was reminded of that story when it appeared in my email so I share it here with you.

Sometimes we have such tunnel vision we need to back off a situation and analyze it from different angles to see if we can come up with more than a single answer to a problem. Sometimes the obvious is not the only way to solve a situation. Consequently we can turn a perceived or even an actual loss into a profit if we but see the possibilities in front of us. Read on.

Copied from World Net Daily Joke-of-the-Day
A city boy, Kenny, moved to the country and bought a donkey from an old farmer for $100. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day.

The next day, the farmer drove up and said, “Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the donkey died.”

Kenny replied “Well then, just give me my money back.”

The farmer said, “Can’t do that. I went and spent it already.”

Kenny said, “OK then, just unload the donkey.”

The farmer asked, “What ya gonna do with him?”

Kenny: “I’m going to raffle him off.”

Farmer: “You can’t raffle off a dead donkey!”

Kenny: “Sure I can. Watch me. I just won’t tell anybody he is dead.”

A month later the farmer met up with Kenny and asked, “What happened with that dead donkey?”

Kenny: “I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars a piece and made a profit of $900.”

Farmer: “Didn’t anyone complain?”

Kenny: “Just the guy who won. I gave him his $ 2.00 back.”

This anecdote brings home the point that keeping a positive mind set can not be over emphasized. The obvious conclusion to be drawn is that the kid has been scammed… the mule is dead, his money has been spent, and the farmer ( it was a preacher the first time I heard it) is on the hook for it. What was a huge negative is a bigger positive, because the kid doesn’t dwell on the circumstances. He sees a solution and ends up multiplying his original investment several times over.

How do you see the adversity in your life? Can you make lemonade with the lemons it brings? Or do you get sour and withered up like the lemon is without a sweetener? Your attitude will determine your outlook.

Is the proverbial glass half full or half empty? You may not can control what happened that half the water is gone or you only got half the water it would hold. But you can take the situation you are now in and either determine what you need to do to stop the loss or restart the flow. What happens that you cannot control falls under the Providence of God. What happens from this day forth can be with His promise that He “will never leave nor forsake you” and you “can do all things through Christ who strengthens” you. Even if you can do nothing about it He can and your attitude must recognize the real possibility, not the perceived reality.

At TheRiteBiz Team and My Residual Team, we monitor Team comments to nip negative thinking in the bud. Every effort is made to avoid mistakes but when they occur we want to correct them and learn from them. Realizing that “as a man thinketh so he is” we want to channel chats and thoughts in a positive direction and grow from every session we have.

If you haven’t done so already, join TheRiteBiz Team and get more info about My Residual Team.

Written by Mark Moffett - Visit The Rite Biz