Starting again with another cliche… you’ll have to excuse me. I’m not great at this writing stuff, so I often turn to idioms and cliches for inspiration.
But seriously, as the saying goes, “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.”
And not just any lemonade. You need to be really strategic about how you’re going to handle each situation. The same lemonade does not quench everyone’s thirst. Some days, you’re going to want strawberry-flavored lemonade. Other days, you’re going to want unsweetened lemonade. Or, maybe you just went on a diet, but you’re craving sweets, so you decide to make lemonade sweetened with stevia instead of sugar. Or, you’re not into making lemonade, but you can crack open a can of Minute Maid with the rest of ’em.
Whatever the case, it’s important to know that life is going to hand you lemons, and you must learn to make the best of a bad situation. Lemons are sour. Make them sweet. Make them palatable at the very least.
How do we do this? I’ll start with an example.
Last week, I lost my car keys while out and about and hand to call a car locksmith. Now, when you Google the word “locksmith,” there are a lot of options that come up. I needed one fast, so I clicked on the first site that popped up in the search results, and the guy quoted me $45 to come and unlock my car for me.
Little did I know it was a huge scam. He arrived with his tool-set, took one look at my car, and said “Oh… my. Well I know I said $45, but I’m gonna have to quote you a higher number now that I’m here, because the way your locks are built, it’s not gonna be a quick job.” I was desperate, so I said “okay.” When it was all said and done (2 hours and a damaged door later), I paid $250 to get a new set of keys and after the guy had driven away, I discovered that the new keys didn’t even work with my vehicle.
Seriously? Apparently locksmith scams are pretty common. Wish I had known that before calling the first website that popped up…
I was a little hesitant to call anyone else, but at this point, I didn’t have many other options. So I did a little more due diligence this time around and researched a few different locksmiths in my area. I ended up calling one that was located a little further away, but it was worth the wait.
He was extremely nice and licensed, and when he showed up, he repaired my door and cut me a new set of keys that worked perfectly. And it was for much less than I had paid the other locksmith.
As he worked, we conversed a bit, and he told me he had been in business for about 15 years, but that he had just recently established his new company name, Car Keys. He said he was looking to grow quite a bit and needed some help reaching his goals. I explained to him that I was a life coach and that I help business people all the time and gave him my card. We now have a consultation appointment next week to discuss his business goals and what I might be able to do for him.
So, the moral of the story is, everything happens for a reason. (Yes, I just used another cliche – get over it.) Life handed me a few lemons that day, and I could have squeezed them into the eyes of the first locksmith I called. Lord knows, that’s what I wanted to do. But instead, I took a few deep breaths, regained my composure, said a little prayer and called another guy. Not only did I get what I needed out of that situation (a new set of keys); I also made a new friend and potentially acquired a new business client for my life coaching career. Hopefully, I can help him take his new business to the next level… We shall see.
Share your stories with us! What are some examples of the “lemons” you’ve been handed in life, and what flavor lemonade did you decide to make with them?