urn your obstacles into opportunities and your problems into possibilities.
“Yes! Yes! I did it, I did it!” I shouted as I jumped up and down in exhilaration. Okay, maybe, I was a little exuberant than the occasion called for. I had just banking a shot off the bumper and knocking in the eight ball in the game of our building. From my reaction, you would have thought I took down Minnesota Fats in a winner-take-all billiards match.
Before we moved in, pool was not y game of choice, I had played at times growing up, but I wasn’t very good at it and never developed a fondness for the game. However, we had vowed to use the amenities in our residence, and thus we were shooting pool. My wife and I played once a week, and we usually found the table unoccupied. It seemed like our private game room, and I even found myself playing games against myself on my days off.
As time went by, I started to improve. I also enjoyed playing more than I ever had in the past. I felt confident enough in my game to say that I was not bad. I wasn’t running down to any pool parlors to hustle the locals, but I had a newfound appreciation of the game.
One Sunday night, I had a breakthrough. I suddenly started to visualize things on the table that I didn’t know were there or even existed before. As a novice, I had only seen the obvious shots in front of me. But now I started to see all kinds of options that were previously missing. Maybe they were hidden by other balls impending their path, or I would need to have taken advanced calculus to figure the angles to make it work, but a new world of possibilities opened up for me.
What I didn’t realize until that day was how shooting pool imitated life.
It didn’t all come to fruition that night. As part of my effort to improve during the previous months, I practiced different shots just to see what happened. If there was a gimme available or a shot that required more skill, I opted for the tougher option. It was easy to take the path of least resistance, but it was much more rewarding when I accomplished something I had thought was out of my reach. I figured the easy alternative would still be there, and I could learn how the ball bounces, so to speak, when going out of my comfort zone.
I was amazed by my discovery. I didn’t just see balls on a table. I saw answers to life’s questions by seeing what wasn’t always visible to the naked eye. Some would say I was “thinking outside the box,” but I think the term has become a cliche. I learned to look beyond the obvious and open my mind to different ideas and solutions than I previously thought possible.
Now I don’t just accept what’s in front of me. I give myself the chance to make decisions that will give me the outcome I want. I look at things from every angle; I play every angle.
When I play pool, I examine every option before I commit to a shot. I want to I want to make sure I have left nothing to chance. I ask myself: Is there a better opportunity somewhere else on the table
It’s amazing h ow pool mirrors life. You can set yourself up for your next shot if you execute properly. In the game of life, every adventure or step along the way created a pathway to your destination.
The answers are there if you search them out. You have to put in the work. Getting better at pool or at life takes practice. As I was getting better at pool, I got cocky and tried to jump steps ahead before I was ready. When I didn’t give a shot the time it deserved, I failed. I saw the folly of my ways and recommitted to staying consistent and staying to the plan.
When I look at the table now, I know what to look for. The answers aren’t always there, but I keep searching to find them whether it’s experimenting with a shot to see what happens or setting myself up for the next opportunity before me.
Having spent my life in sales, I’ve learned the wisdom of this saying: “Until you get your first ‘no’, the process hasn’t even started.” I can choose to see a situation as hopeless, or I can visualize the possibilities, whether it’s on the pool table or in my life.
The breakthrough changed my life. One minute, I saw the same table I had looked at countless times before; the next, a totally new vision popped up out of nowhere. Now I rack them up, break, and watch the balls scatter. And not just when I’m playing pool.
