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Winston Churchill said, “To every man there comes in his lifetime that special moment when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered a chance to do a very special thing, unique to him and fitted to his talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds him unprepared or unqualified for the work which would be his finest hour.”

 Many people struggle with being ready for that moment.Here are some revealing statements from clients about where they see themselves:  

• 51-year-old businessman — “I feel like I’ve lived my whole life by accident.”
• 34-year-old CPA – “I feel like a prostitute – in return for a very nice salary, they’ve taken my heart, soul and mind.”
• Wife of professor — “I feel like we have been free-falling for the last 13 years.”
• Salesman — “I feel like I’m a ball in a pinball machine.”
• 56-year-old (PhD. in Theology currently driving a bus) — “I feel like I’ve been given six seconds to sing, and I’m singing the wrong song.”
• 53-year-old businessman — “I feel like my life is a movie that’s almost over, and I haven’t even bought the popcorn yet.”
• Collection Agent – “I’ve lived my life up until now as though driving with the parking brake on.”
• 46-year-old “successful” car salesman — “I feel like a lost ball in tall cotton.”
• 39-year-old automotive engineer — “I’m a butterfly caught in a spider’s web, with my life slowly being sucked out.”
• 27-year-old computer specialist — “I’m a box of parts and nothing fits together.”
• 31-year-old attorney — “Law school sucked all the life and creativity out of me.”
• 32-year-old in family business — “the merry-go-round of my professional life has left me no farther than a few steps from where I got on and with a weak stomach.”

Don’t expect luck to present you with your finest hour. Remember, luck is when preparation meets opportunity. What three things are you doing right now to prepare for greater opportunity this year – and to perhaps experience your “finest hour?” The best person to predict your future is you.

Portrait artist James Whistler decided to paint his mother when the person who had scheduled an appointment with him failed to show up. (Don’t wait on perfect conditions for success to happen; just go ahead and do something.)

Excerpts from pages 42-43, 48 Days to the Work You Love