Monday Morning Motivator-SO OBVIOUS YOU COULD MISS IT...

It never ceases to amaze me that some of the most wonderful ideas, best solutions and coolest inventions are so obvious, so there in front of us - that we simply don't spot them. We're oblivious to the obvious! I mean, who among us couldn't have thought of the "finger guard" for slicing onions or the "remote control bottle opener," for heaven's sake? Well, somebody did - and they're probably making fortunes. And we're left with, "Why didn't I think of that?" But look at our lives. There are so many instances when I find myself searching far and wide for an answer that's literally sitting in my lap. A decade and a half ago when I was eager to start my own business, an older and very wise friend suggested that I become a coach. "A coach?!" I said. "Are you kidding? That's not what I do!" "Hmmm," she said quietly and left it at that. Of course, she was right. In fact, I realize now that I've always been a coach... motivating people is nothing less than my calling. But at the time, obvious as it was to my insightful friend, I totally missed it. "It's like water is to fish, someone once told me. "Fish don't say, 'Hey, look at all the water here!' It's just there; they're oblivious to it." An extremely talented young man whom I "coached," frustrated with his role as a lawyer at a "white shoe" firm (I thought of him as "the poet in the enemy camp") longed for a career that would allow him to express his creativity and love of communications. After some lengthy conversations and soul-searching, he discovered that the answer to "what should I do?" was so close, so incredibly obvious, he'd actually completely overlooked it: His parents own and run a top notch public relations firm. And now, someday he'll run it...and love doing it. Let's take a look at our relationships. How many of us had our long distance glasses on, traveling the world, looking for the love of our lives, when it turned out he/she was standing right smack in front of us? So what do we do? How do we ensure that we aren't oblivious to the obvious, that we don't miss out on the great ideas, perfect solutions, cool inventions - our calling...or our soulmate? We've got to stop acting like fish. We've got to actually look at the water! See it, feel it, love it! Okay, here's an idea: What about a "self-twirling pasta fork?" Oh, wait, somebody already thought of that...Rats.

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