I Was There It Could Have Happened but I Blew It

If this has happened to you, you know how it feels to have been so close that you could taste it, then look back at that rarest of moments, when everything could have lined up perfectly and your life could have been propelled into an entirely new more prosperous direction and you’re left uttering those words, “I was there! It could have happened, but I blew It.” regrettably.

These rare moments are what I refer to as “lightning strike” moments, and if you are ready at the moment of that strike of lightning, you can benefit greatly. Lighting, as rare as it is, can be capitalized upon if you are ready, and it has been going on for years, from the ancient healers who would watch a pond of water atop a hill, waiting for lightning to strike, so he or she could retrieve healing lightning water to be used as an antibiotic for the tribe, to the mid-1700s when Benjamin Franklin conducted his famous kite-and-key experiment that led to the invention of the Tesla coil, an electrical resonant transformer circuit, by inventor Nikola Tesla in the pre-1900s, and countless other developments by which many have profited wildly.

I believe that this could happen to you, not to be hit by physical lightning but to be visited by that moment that comes without warning and by which you will be likely unprepared to profit from that particular moment in time. If you are not ready, the moment will slip by, unnoticed by your friends, family, or others, who may only hear of it by your telling of the moment that you could have made it had you only known or been better prepared.

Lightning Doesn’t Strike Twice?

I have many clients who were visited by such a moment and want to be ready if it ever happens again. Oh, you say, you could never be hit by lightning twice. Right? Say that to Roy Sullivan who was hit by lightning 7 times and lived through each strike. Say that to Deborah Brown who won a single lottery 30 times in one day. Or Richard Lustig, who won seven lotteries between 1993 and 2010, and continued to cash in on those concurrent lightning strikes by writing his book, Learn How to Increase Your Chances of Winning the Lottery. I know two people who have won the lottery twice.

A Moment on TV

Bobak Ferdowsi, AKA The Mohawk Guy
The Mowhawk Guy

You just never know when or where it’s going to strike. Like the guy who was working for NASA in the summer of 2012, who accidentally was caught by cameras during the Curiosity landing, sporting a mohawk haircut with stars carved into the sides. That was it. Next thing you know Bobak Ferdowsi, AKA “The Mohawk Guy” is pals with the President and First Lady, featured in national historical events, becomes a TV show and movie actor, and a spokesperson for the youth of the world to take an interest in math, science, and space technology.

Not unlike my being a “witness to a burning building” example, a young man, Antoine Dodson, is featured in a newscast following the breaking and entering and attempted rape of his sister which Dodson interrupted as the assailant fled the scene. His statement to the camera was all that it took.

The Gregory Brothers captured the vocal track and featured it in, “The Bed Intruder Song” and they split the writing credits and royalties with Dodson. Dodson parlayed his earnings into online retailing, created phone apps including a sex offender tracker, is featured in commercial advertisements, and a reality show.  Kevin Antoine Dodson, the American Internet celebrity, singer, and actor has moved his family from “the projects” in Huntsville to LA.

A Post Goes Viral

Viral Olive Garden Review
Viral Olive Garden Review

Then there is the foodie columnist who writes a review about Olive Garden in 2012 that goes viral. Later, on August 27, 2013, Marilyn Hagerty releases her book, Grand Forks: A history of American dining in 128 reviews, a no-brainer, method to follow up on the media sensation, as it was only a reprint of her original reviews, but she was ready. There are so many countless examples of someone putting something out there, with no intention of it going viral, but it does.

Be Ready

And that, my friend, is the point, the readiness. Be ready for when that lightning strike happens. And that is exactly what I do with my clients, to ready them in such a way, that benefitting massively from the lightning strike is a part of the plan. So, you never have to worry about thinking, “I was there! It could have happened, but I blew It.”

Oh, and get this, my plan is so good that you don’t even need the lightning strike to make it work.

Your Great Idea

You wake up at three o’clock in the morning with an innovative idea, the most amazing idea. You think to yourself, “Why didn’t I think of that before?” There’s nothing like it available on planet earth and this one thing would make life so much easier and the world a better place. You have received a gift from the universe, and you go back to sleep.

You are in the right place at the right time to receive the idea what will you do

In a universe where anything is possible, it was assumed you were the right person, in the right place at the right time to receive this amazing gift. What will you do about it?

After you get up in the morning, the idea seems just as good as it did in the middle of the night, and you think to yourself, “This really would be a great improvement in the world.”

Later that day, you tell the idea to a friend, who enthusiastically reinforces what a great idea you have. The friend says he/she wants to buy one when it becomes available. even knows someone who might be willing to invest in your idea, if you pursue it and congratulates you on potentially being the next millionaire.

This could be it, your golden ticket. After work you met up with a trusted friend and tell him/her about your idea. In this instance you are cautioned that your idea is so good that you should never mention it again because if anyone ever heard about it – they would do it without you – and you’d end up with nothing.

You are asked, “Do you have a patent?” A patent attorney will run about $5,000 to get started… Is it worth $5K to pay, just so you can talk to someone about your idea without the fear of losing it? Even so, do you have the money to defend your patent if someone steals your idea?

Days go by, you want to talk to someone about your idea, but you fear someone else will take it and run with it, leaving you with the empty bag. All the while having a feeling that this may be the next best thing the world is waiting for.

You start to question your worthiness. Why did you get the idea in the first place? You’re not qualified, don’t have the skill set, don’t have the equipment, raw materials or financing needed to make it happen. You don’t know how to do it, never have done it before, can’t do it by yourself, don’t know the people who can help to make it happen and couldn’t afford to hire them if you did.

Wait, you remind yourself about a story you heard about, where this person had a great idea – just a regular person, like you and me – who didn’t give up, shared their idea with a key person who took the idea and ran with it, paying the person who had the idea millions and millions of dollars for sharing it with them.

That’s it! You think; if I could just get my idea in front of the right person, then I could bless the world with my idea and make a fortune: If I could just get on Shark Tank. You’ve heard about the show, but never really watched it. So, you set out to watch a few episodes to get the address to submit your idea.

shark tank original idea millionaire tv show

After watching Shark Tank, you realize that you’re not prepared enough to even consider pitching your idea to anyone yet. Now, you’re even more confused.

You find yourself thinking about it too much and unable to do anything about it. You’ve found yourself in the state of paralysis of analysis. You are so focused on the process, the obstacles and second-guessing yourself that you’re unable to make decisions or take action.

Finally, you’re just too exhausted from the whole ordeal. You lock away the idea, and wait for someone to magically appear and offer you millions of dollars for your idea; otherwise it is a faded memory.

Until the moment when you see your idea is now available via TV, the Internet or seeing it for sale in the store.

Aargh!” You slap your forehead and say, “That was MY idea!

How does it really work?

The universe longs for us to have the best life possible, so it selects someone to receive ideas that will benefit mankind and could likewise have huge monetary rewards rewarding the recipient for sharing the gift with the world.

When you are blessed with such a gift, the idea is like precognition in that you have received a glimpse of something the world needs and will have in the future.

After sharing the gift with you, the universe taps its foot and watches to see what you will do with it. If you do nothing and bury it, the idea will be given to someone else… and the process continues until someone takes the action to release it to the world.

You might consider readying yourself for the next lightning strike.

When Lightning Strikes, Will You Be Ready?

Lightning strikes the earth 100 times every second. In the same way, potential moments of mass impact strike our lives; like lightning, we never know when or where it will strike.

Will you be ready when lightning strikes?

When lightning strikes will yu be readyI have been coaching about lightning preparedness since (edited) for a long time. Not the electrical discharges from above so much as the sudden impact of life-changing opportunity that we as planetary participants are infrequently but abruptly struck by without notice.

These lightning strikes come, generally, in two varieties; tragedy and potential good fortune. My life has been struck by both, and I’ll bet yours has, too. And chances are we will be struck again. Will we be ready?

Andy Warhol was not far off by asserting that everyone would have their 15 minutes of fame, exactly what happens when one is struck by the media lightning strike.

In terms of good fortune, if your desire is to use the lightning strike to your advantage, you must be prepared to jump and bounce the exposure to a higher level, thereby increasing the sudden impact. This enables you to convert the strike into a wave that can be ridden for a longer duration.

If you have your ducks in a row (or stacked correctly) when lightning strikes… you will have your duck feathers everywhere!

(Oh, that was bad, Masters: Bad Masters!)

Whatever your ducks represent, they are different for every person.

I work with a lot of authors, so let’s use them as an example. At the very least, an author – or potential author – must have a written book proposal for their latest book idea(s). It is not enough to have it all in your head; you must have your book proposal in written (printed and electronic) form and have the ability to access it within minutes (if not seconds).

So, when lightning strikes…

BREAKING NEWS

“I’m Rikki Number with KNOW News, live on the scene where the Space Needle was struck by lightning and has collapsed into its footprint…”

The reporter, with book proposal in hand continues, “Author, Jane Dough, whose upcoming book ‘My Last Romance in Seattle’ is soon to be released, witnessed the tragedy. Miss Dough, please tell us what you saw…”

“Well, I was on my way to meet with the artist who is working on the cover art for my latest book and I saw this bright flash of light that lit up the whole sky, and the earth shook, like a bomb went off…”

No one can know when or where lightning will strike, but if you are always in a state of preparedness, you can bounce the impact of the briefest moment to your benefit.

Without, the book proposal in hand, Jane Dough would have just been another generic passerby. Being an author increases her credibility in front of the news cameras, and because she was my client, she already had her-name-dot-com (Masters’ Branding 101) heated up and ready for the impact (potentially crashing the server from all the instantaneous heavy traffic).

This little piece of prose fiction is just to inspire your imagination. You know, beyond the shadow of doubt, that it happens every day – especially if you watch the news with any regularity – and this is just one idea.

You can probably think of examples (likely not as exaggerated as my example) that have happened to you, or someone you know.

These kinds of lightning strikes happen far more often than the electrical discharges from our atmosphere.

Ask yourself: Am I Ready?

If not, you best begin preparation today. Isn’t NOW the best time to get ‘er done? Do it now.