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In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill related the story of Edwin Barnes, who was determined to work hand-in-hand with Thomas Edison. Barnes was patient, waiting and watching for opportunity. When it came, he acted. Hill wrote,

When the opportunity came, it appeared in a different form, and from a different direction than Barnes had expected. That is one of the tricks of opportunity. It has a sly habit of slipping in by the back door, and often it comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat. Perhaps this is why so many fail to recognize opportunity.

Too many of us get stuck on a particular method for the outcome we desire. We operate with blinders on, expecting our intentions to materialize in just the way we want them to. That is one of the biggest mistakes that people make when they begin to learn how to use the Law of Attraction.

Another story, even though it’s been around for a while, illustrates this perfectly:

The dam upstream suddenly burst, and the town was engulfed in water. Rising swiftly, it reached window level, then the tops of doors, approaching rooflines.

People got in their boats and motored around to rescue those who couldn’t make it from their houses. After making several trips, one boater found an older gentleman who had climbed onto the roof of his house to escape the rising water.

“Jump in when we get close!” the boater cried out to the stranded man.

“Don’t worry about me,” he said. “God will save me. Go pick up the rest of the folks who aren’t faithful.”

Try as he might, the rescuer couldn’t get the man into his boat. Realizing he could be saving others, he sped away.

A while later, as the water was starting to come up the roof, a helicopter appeared over the stranded man. The rescue team lowered a ladder and yelled out to the man, “Grab the ladder! Climb up! The water is still rising!”

“No, thanks!” he cried out. “Go save someone who needs it more than I! God will save me!”

So the helicopter left to save the few others who were still stranded.

The water kept rising, turbulent, debris-filled, violently carrying away anything in its path. Finally, as it crested the roofline, the old man was swept away. Frightened at last, he tried to keep his head above the roiling waters, only to be pulled under by the branches of a passing tree. Unable to hold his breath for any longer, he gave up, sucked in a huge lungful of water, and, after a short while, died.

He came before God. He was taught throughout his life that he should be humble before God, but other emotions got the best of him. He was angry, and he felt let down.

“I had faith, God! I knew you would save me. I knew and believed it from the bottom of my heart, but you let me down. You let me die anyway.” Dejected, he turned away from God.

“Hold on just a minute there,” God said. “What was it you expected, exactly?”

“I expected you to SAVE ME!” the man cried.

“Who do you think sent the boat and the helicopter?”

Don’t be blind to opportunity. It may, probably will, come from a completely unexpected direction. It will be the answer to your prayers, the manifestation of your desires. Watch for it.

I’m going to hammer on these again, because a) I believe that in spite of all the learning that I’ve done, they are still my challenge areas, and b) I believe, through observation and talking to people, that many other people are having the same challenges.

So what are these two ingredients? Goals and belief. More specifically, a clear and concise goal that resonates with you, and your belief that you deserve it and in fact already have it.

I tend to get caught up in the details–how do I accomplish this (whatever it might be). I tend to forget that if I am absolutely clear on what I want, and believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is already on its way, that the how will appear. It won’t take any intensive head-banging to find a way. It will pop right in front of my eyes and all I’ll need to do is to walk through the door.

Of course, there is the question of how to develop effective goals, and how to develop unshakable beliefs. The solution, though (even though it may be a somewhat circular path), is to know that the means to develop those skills will be in front of you when you need them and are ready for them. It may be that you’ll see a blog post that brings forth a new idea or new way of thinking or it may be that you’ll see a book and have the feeling that you really should read this. Your job is not to make it happen, but to let it happen.