â€oeI donâ€^(TM)t like to be defeated by anything!”

-Reed Orcutt

New Windows of Opportunity

There was a safety railing to be installed and a broken window to replace.  It all had to be completed on Monday morning so the repairs could be verified.  It was late Thursday afternoon and I was â€oedialing” like crazy to see if I could get someone or more than ones to commit to do the work.

Call after call dished out another defeat to me.  The deadline was so tight that I couldnâ€^(TM)t get anyone to say they would do the work in less than a week.  I was getting desperate because I knew the deadline had no flexibility.  It was about as flexible as my own rigid body when compared to a yoga master.

I had to sleep on it for the night to see if my mind would produce the answer since it is by far the most flexible part of my being.  It paid off.

At about one a.m. my eyes popped open and I audibly said, â€oeI canâ€^(TM)t believe I didnâ€^(TM)t think of him!”  I was much calmer and knew deep inside that this was the solution to my problem.  I donâ€^(TM)t know how I knew.  I just knew!  Still, the rest of the night didnâ€^(TM)t yield much sleep because I watched the clockâ€^(TM)s red LED numbers flash past the minutes until 7:30 am; a time I knew would be alright for me to call my friend.

When the time arrived I touched the number I needed to call and got voice mail.  It was a little like deepened madness when I got voice mail, but I still felt positive.  I left a message. I waited, or more like hovered over my phone. 

Within three minutes of making the call, my phone alerted me that a call was coming in.  It was my friend!  Just as I had hoped, he was willing to help me and we scheduled a time to get together so we could review the work.  My angst turned into tranquility.

At ten-thirty a.m. we met where the work was to be completed.  We reviewed it.  Reed made a phone call.  He hit the end call button on his phone and looked at me with a smile.  â€oeIâ€^(TM)ll have everything finished by early tomorrow afternoon!” He said.

We continued on and looked at another window that had a broken mechanism.  I thought we could also have the window technician look at it when he came to do his work the next day.  It was not to be so.

Reed looked at the nonfunctioning piece as I showed it to him and he began to work on it.  I worried because I knew his time was limited.  He had big commitments to finish.  I said, â€oeI know you have to go, this can wait.”

He just looked up at me and replied, â€oeI donâ€^(TM)t like to be defeated by anything!  I can figure this out.  I just donâ€^(TM)t do this often enough to remember how to do it.”

He spent an hour with me and in the end he was not defeated!  He fixed the window as well as my challenges.  He also reminded me that with persistence, thought and experience new windows of opportunity can always be opened.