My wife Oralia and I were out traveling last summer and decided to stop at a little gas station on the side of the highway.
We stopped partly to fill up, and partly because there was an ice cream stand next door.
OK Kevin, what's the point?
I walked inside to use the washroom and noticed a sign on the door. It said, “If Door is Locked then it it is in use!!!!!” (That's the actual door in the photo)
I read the sign and understood why they put it up. They didn't want people going to the counter and asking for a non-existent key every 10 minutes.
I thought, “OK, that's fine,” but here was my dilemma. The door was closed.
How do you find out if a closed door is locked or not?
I figured that the best way to see if that closed door was locked or not would be to gently try the handle (Gently so I wouldn't creep someone out if they were inside).
At the exact second my hand touched the handle, the door swung open and a big tough looking guy came out and gave me a weird look. He pointed to the sign, and mumbled something about my lack of reading skills.
Huh!
I couldn't believe this guy.
Just because a door is closed, doesn't mean it's locked.
What if no one had been inside and I'd just sat there waiting for the door to open?
How long would you stand there before you either gave up and walked away, or finally stepped forward and tried the handle?
Will you try the handle?
There will always be closed doors in life, metaphorically speaking.
It's always your choice as to whether you just stand and stare at closed doors, or you can walk forward and test the handle.
Ask Yourself:
- Is there an opportunity I've been waiting on?
- Can I get a quick yes or no if I ask the right person or take some sort of action?
- Can I do something about it today?
- How will I feel (excitement/relief) when I find out the answer?
I don't know about you, but I'd rather be out there testing handles than standing around waiting for doors to open magically in front of me.
Some opportunities are never going to happen, so it's good to find out and move on. Other times opportunities are just sitting there waiting for you to grab hold of them.
Try thinking about when you reach for the handles of the closed doors in life going forward.
One more question… What type of ice cream cones did we have that day?
Oralia had mint chocolate. I had coconut, and they were great. 
