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.