I once knew a guy that was a great basketball player. In the years when I first saw him play, he could dunk a basketball with ease. It was always an amazing site to see and he knew it because he would often throw in a few dunks when the ladies came into the gym. After graduation, I moved away to pursue school and my career and we lost contact. I saw him again a few years later at a gym and he was going at his normal routine showing off is skills. During the game some ladies came into the gym and I knew what time it was. My friend got the ball and down the court he went. I was like a kid watching a favorite childhood movie all over again. Just as my friend brought his arm forward to dunk the ball, I noticed that the ball was not quite above the rim, and in a split second the ball hit the rim and my friend with all of his pride was laying on the floor flat on his back.
I felted robbed of a great memory. How could my friend do this to me and ruin this moment for me? (Selfish me feeling bad for myself while he was laying on the floor embarrassed and shamed in front of everyone). I eventually realized that I failed to accept that a few things had changed. My friend had put on an extra 20lbs or so and it had been about 7 – 8 years since the last time I saw him play. Then it dawned on me, maybe my friend should have focused on learning how to shoot better vs. trying to keep dunking all the time.
When it comes to your finances and your business it is vital that you understand what dynamics have changed in your situation. Change is inevitable, so if we don’t get ourselves prepared for it we could be losing more than just our ego and good memories. It saddens me to see so many businesses shut down because they did not evolve with time, or see people fall behind financially because they were not prepared for a very predictable and likely situation. Strategize and prepare for change because we both know its coming.