Two weeks ago, I wrote about Unforeseen Doors of Opportunity.
It was about being able to look beyond immediate obstacles and apprehensions, to see setbacks as possible pathways to something richer and more fulfilling.
And I received a lot of positive feedback, so I wanted to explore it further. More times than I can count, situations that look like a failure turn out to be anything but.
Mainly because people didn’t quit.
I could write a post on when quitting, or cutting one’s losses is in fact the correct thing to do. I’ve seen far too many people stick with an average idea far too long.
The opportunity cost of not quitting is something we should always factor in, especially in business. But today I’m talking about not quitting...
A couple of years back, I moved into a monastery to unplug and reset. I wrote a book about it “Living with the Monks”.
It was a life-changing experience for me and along the way I learned about their history.
The Monks of New Skete, an Eastern Orthodox Christian monastic community in Cambridge, New York, first established their monastery in 1966.
They’re well-known not only for their spiritual teachings but also for their expertise in breeding German Shepherds and training dogs.
Over the years, their teachings on dog training have gained them significant recognition, and they've authored several books on the topic.
But it didn’t start that way.
The monks built their monastery in a place called Two Top Mountain... I dare you to find without a GPS.
They were going to farm the land to stay self-sufficient but found out pretty quickly that there’s a reason most farms are on flat land--because the rainwater and melting snow washes away the seeds and crops.
They weren’t sure what to do; they even considered packing up and moving. But they prayed on it and had faith that the universe, or God, as they understand it, would take care of them.
One thing was for certain—farming was a failure for them. And then… Their only neighbor on the mountain was a woman who bred a specific type of German shepherd.
Knowing the monks were in a tough spot, she gave them a boy and girl dog and told them she’d help them start a breeding business. The rest is history.
It’s a testament to the idea that sometimes, the universe has bigger plans for us than we can imagine. When one door closes, another might lead to an extraordinary destiny.
It also reminds me of a Seth Rogan quote…
If you don’t quit, you might make it. If you do quit, you definitely won’t (insert Seth Rogan's laugh)
