The expression hind sight is 20/20 is very familiar to all of us. This old expression was stated for those that miss an opportunity out of fear or just not paying attention. We have all seen opportunities that seemed like a scam, scheme, impossible or just plain dumb, that went on to become something amazing. How did we miss it? Were we afraid? Did we just lack the vision to see it? Why do we miss the opportunity?

One of the best proverbs I ever heard about opportunity was the story of the young man who wanted to cross the dessert to paradise.

A young man with a few friends wished to cross a long dessert to find the land of paradise. They seeked out the advice of an old wise man that told them in order to cross the dessert they must load their pockets with sand. When they reached the other side to paradise, they would be both sad and glad. The young men followed this instruction out of trust, but after days of hot sun, high winds and little water, they began to empty the heavy extra sand from their pockets until there was just a little left.

After reaching the other side to where they found the land of paradise, they found the sand in their pockets had turned to gold. They were glad they kept some of the sand but were sad they didn’t carry more, just as the wise old man predicted.

We all have a tendency to live in the immediate and forget the ultimate. Things get tough and we begin to dump sand out of our pockets, instead of staying focused on our journey to paradise. We must let go of our fear and doubts about those opportunities in order to achieve our ultimate. Keep your eyes on the prize, dig deep and keep your sand in your pocket.

“The game of life is a lot like football. You have to tackle your problems, block your fears, and score your points when you get the opportunity”.—Lewis Grizzard

Image by Stuart Miles at www.freedigitalphotos.net

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Tim Wilhoit is owner/principal of Your Friend 4 Life Insurance Agency in Nashville, TN. He is a family man, father of 3, grandfather of 2, entrepreneur, insurance agent, life insurance broker, employee benefit specialist, salesman, sales trainer, recruiter, public speaker, blogger, author and team leader with over 30 years of experience in sales and marketing in the insurance and beverage industries.