Last week I was on a road trip to check out some details of a new venture I was looking into. I left thinking that I’d done most of my due diligence, but I still needed to check out the final few uncertainties.
Things went quite well. But I was also reminded of how fragile a plan can be until every issue is sorted out. The tiniest detail can still scuttle the plan, making it worthless. But if the vulnerabilities can be overcome, it offers tremendous possibilities.
Yesterday I watched a football game and was reminded of the same tremendous intersection of strength and vulnerability. The kicker punted the ball and, downfield, the receiving team set up the perfect punt return wall. The renowned kick returner ran back the punt about fifty yards.
Alas, one of his lineman had lined up offside by a couple of inches. The play was cancelled and, this time, there was no room for a big return. What could have been the turning point of the game was erased because of a few inches. The team lost.
This morning I read a success story of an entrepreneur who started a new business. She was well-versed and experienced in the craft, and made sure to cover all her bases. Except one. A phenomenally successful business almost went into bankruptcy because of that one vulnerability.
In the end, the strength she brought to the table helped her find a way out of it and restore the company’s strong position. Many lessons learned—and now shared with the rest of the world in her consulting business for a particular market niche.
Then there’s me. I’ve always been in good health—“just put your picture beside the word ‘healthy’ in the dictionary,” my doctor suggested.
But a routine check-up this spring showed up a small abnormality, and further tests were conducted. Wednesday, I go in for surgery. It will probably be minor but, one never knows for sure! This relatively strong, relatively fit guy, could be vulnerable.
Last week my daughter called me up. “Dad, we’ve never talked about this but, since you’re going under anesthetic, we should. What are your wishes if you need your family to make decisions for you?”
Wow! There’s a jolt into the reality of vulnerability. But the fact is, there’s no such thing as minor surgery if you’re going under anesthetic. That alone makes the surgery major, and makes one vulnerable.
Strong, yet vulnerable! So it seems to be in much of life, whether in health, in relationships, in business, or in employment—how many oil workers thought their high-paying jobs were secure before 2015?
We seem to tread such a fine line in the juxtaposition of those two states. And so it has been since forever. Our forebears dealt daily with the challenges of survival. Many of those in areas of conflict do the same today.
Our more “secure” world often blurs the reality of that line. But, in one way or another, we all have some vulnerabilities that impinge upon our strengths, and may even be masked as such. What are yours?
While some thrive on walking that line, others are terrified at the thought that it might even exist. But we’re probably all better off to be reminded of the coexistence of strength and vulnerability that exists all around us and that influences our lives and behaviours.
At least, that’s how I see it . . .
Rent 2 Own tip
The current housing market has resulted in a lot of rental properties being sold and renters being left in the lurch. Many come to us because they can’t find suitable rentals. We can sometimes help, but not always.
We cannot help if the client needs a place very quickly. It takes time to go through the process of finding and buying the property, doing the due diligence and arranging with the Seller when the property might be available for possession. We also can’t help if there is nothing or very little available for an option fee (deposit). And we can’t help if the renter’s salary is insufficient to afford the place they want or need for their family.
But we can help if there is sufficient time, an adequate deposit and a high enough income. We can’t skirt these issues, because we don’t want to set you up for failure. But, if we can see the probability of success at the end of the tunnel (the lease-option period), then we can get creative to try to make it happen for you. We have a general model that we follow but we often find ways to be creative, to fit the circumstances.
