Opportunity Matrix Mystery

Dear friend,

Friday, I headed to the library in downtown Minneapolis. I haven't had a Robert Crais book in over a week and was missing my guys, Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. I've read all the books in the libraries near my home and I didn't want to wait for the delivery. I checked out three books, so I don't need to go back for a couple of weeks.

When I arrived there were huge lines outside the library, which I thought was unusual. Turns out they weren't there for books, but an annual event called "The Taste of Minnesota." They shut down several blocks and fill them with food trucks and vendors. Of course there was a main music stage and a secondary one a few blocks away. It was free to walk around, so I did.

The progression of the day was serendipitous. I had been out at a few furniture thrift stores. One of them is close to the Plymouth Library, which made me think of my books. Which prompted me to drive downtown, which led me to listening to live music, which I always love. If I had been sitting at home, I don't think I would have made the trip just to go to the Taste of MN.

One decision leads to another, leading to another, which creates unexpected opportunities. Or maybe it's the winding path that enables us to eventually land at a place we'd like to be, but just not willing to go directly. I wonder how many opportunities are awaiting us to make decisions that put us on a course leading to the desired, yet unknown, next thing.

MATRIX

Life is a series of opportunities. Our routines mask them, thus the value of disruption. Whether self-initiated, or as most disruptions go, caused by someone or something else, they kickstart the opportunity matrix. I have a good friend who recently found out her employment was ending. it doesn't seem to be great timing. It's a bit weird to say I'm incredibly excited for her, but I am.

Opportunities she never realized existed will soon become visible. A way of working and experiencing life will open up. She may even look back on this season and consider it differently than she has. Sometimes we realize we were tolerating when we thought we were thriving. Bring on the disruption even if the fear of the unknown comes along with it.

MINDSHIFT

What if you took one small step outside of your routine to see if other opportunities exist out there?

MYSTERY

I love mystery books. It all started with Sherlock Holmes back in high school. I tried to read carefully so I would see the same things Sherlock did. Mostly, I didn't. My lovely wife and I like watching mystery thrillers. Trying to figure out how something happened or is going to happen feels incredibly energizing for my brain. Granted I have no skin in the game so it's enjoyable whether my assessments are right or wrong.

Life is a mystery. When we live like it's not, we miss the tantalizing allure of being alive. In my five decades on planet earth, I've learned that we'll regularly be reminded in big and small ways, that we don't have it figured out. The cliche of the more we know, the more we realize we don't know. Same same, with the mysteries of life. The more we've figured out, the more we realize the less we've understood. Ahhhh, how can you not love this great adventure?

MINDSHIFT

What if you became a private investigator this week looking for clues that reveal hidden opportunities that exist in this season?

MUSIC

That's what I love about live music. In real time the musician or band can explore new realities within the context of the song. Throw in a drum solo or a meandering vamp, and the song, that night, becomes something different, something new. It's disruptive in context. Skill and courage are both required for such an exploration.

Being alive is an invitation to riff. Apply reverb generously.

Saying "yes" to the internal nudges we get is essential for seizing opportunities, solving mysteries and creating beautiful music with our lives. I used to teach the teams I led to "find the yes." We'd regularly be told "no" for many of the ideas I had. The philosophy was simple: Inside every No, lives a Yes. Find it.

I realize if I had said to myself "go check out the Taste of MN" I would have replied "no thanks." Finding the yes, therefore may be more about taking the next peripheral step, that might just lead us to an unexpected delight.

SHIFTING

I hope this week you are willing to self-disrupt a bit, consider a few unsolved possibilities and riff beyond your current reality. Find the yes so your no's don't keep you small. #ShiftAway