Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.
– Randy Pausch (Professor, Carnegie Mellon, Author of The Last Lecture)

I believe that the above statement is absolutely true when, and only when, a person is open to the learning and the possibility of something other than what they wanted. To many times, we get locked into one option as if it were the only option in the world. That is seldom the case.

Back when I was 21 years old, I was an assistant manager at the Main Street McDonalds in Joplin, Missouri. I loved that store! I loved the people! And they loved me! I had only been there for about 10 months, but I had already earned the reputation of being a powerful motivator and a great teacher. I wanted to stay there forever. Then one day, my supervisor, Bob, told me that I was going to be transferred to another store: North Rangeline (or North, as it was known). North had the worst reputation in the region. The crew was surly and unmotivated. The managers were worse. I was being sent into to shake things up and turn it around. I was miserable. My last few days at Main, I cried, the employees cried, and then I cried some more.

I arrived at North and it was even worse than I had imagined. The first few weeks were abysmal. On my third Saturday there, one of the crew broke a coffee pot in the ice machine just as were approaching the noon rush on a hot summer’s day (to read about that escapade and how it solidified my reputation as a motivator and manager read The Case of the Shattered Coffee Pot in the Ice Machine on my blog). The shattering of the coffee pot, brought me out of my misery; it woke me up. It didn’t matter how much I wanted to be back at the Main Street store that wasn't going to happen. I needed to take up the challenge in front of me. After all, what better challenge could I have than this? The lessons that I learned from that point on at North were among some of the best lessons ever. I learned about motivating under fire. I learned about negotiation. I learned about inter-personal dynamics. During a 3-month period, I was able to turn things around to such a significant degree that I was awarded my own store, becoming the youngest store manager in the region. Ironically, I would not have gotten that opportunity (at least not so quickly) had I stayed at Main. The challenge of North made me better and qualified me to be a store manager.

When things don't work out the way that you had expected them to, how do you set aside your expectations and look for the opportunity that is nestled inside the surprise?

To Your Success,

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