WEBVTT - Be ready to ride the wave

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to be ready to ride the wave. If

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<v Speaker 1>something big and good is happening in your life, take

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<v Speaker 1>a little time to position yourself to be able to

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<v Speaker 1>seize the opportunity. That way, your hard work you've been

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<v Speaker 1>doing will pay off over the long term. Today's tip,

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<v Speaker 1>like some others this week, comes from my book One

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and sixty eight Hours. That book was first published

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<v Speaker 1>in late May of twenty ten, which means that it

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<v Speaker 1>is fifteen years old this month. A lot has changed

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<v Speaker 1>in the world since then, but we do, in fact

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<v Speaker 1>still have one hundred sixty eight hours in a week,

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<v Speaker 1>and so I am re visiting some of the tips

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<v Speaker 1>from that book that I think can still be helpful.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is a career one on being ready to

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<v Speaker 1>ride the wave. I have long been fascinated by the

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<v Speaker 1>concept of one hit wonders. Some people get really lucky

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<v Speaker 1>with something in life and then they just sort of disappear.

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<v Speaker 1>Some people, on the other hand, get a big break

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<v Speaker 1>and then manage to keep going afterwards, building a long

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<v Speaker 1>and sustainable career. A lot of that comes down to

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<v Speaker 1>being ready to ride the wave. We can't necessarily control

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<v Speaker 1>what waves come our way, but we can be prepared

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<v Speaker 1>to take advantage of what luck does happen. I think

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of that is taking a little bit of

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<v Speaker 1>time to think strategically. Sometimes we ask ourselves what would

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<v Speaker 1>happen if things went wrong? That is a smart question

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<v Speaker 1>to ask, but I think it is also wise to

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<v Speaker 1>ask ourselves what we would do if things went really right.

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<v Speaker 1>For instance, what if the head of your organization popped

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<v Speaker 1>into your office and announced that she has heard your

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<v Speaker 1>team is doing amazing things. She wants to double your

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<v Speaker 1>budget or triplet quadruplet. Do you know how you would

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<v Speaker 1>make the most of these extra resources. Or maybe you

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<v Speaker 1>work for a nonprofit that is used to operating on

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<v Speaker 1>a shoe string. What would you do if a funder

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<v Speaker 1>offered you more than your current annual budget, no strings attached.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you know how you would make the most of

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<v Speaker 1>that opportunity. Maybe you operate a small company that sells

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<v Speaker 1>goods online. All of a sudden, some major influencer like

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know Oprah mentions your product. Now, what are

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<v Speaker 1>you prepared to make the most of the extra attention.

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<v Speaker 1>What if a short video you make goes viral and

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<v Speaker 1>you now have millions of people following you. What are

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<v Speaker 1>you going to do to keep that audience or use

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<v Speaker 1>it to launch your next thing. Luck is somewhat random,

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<v Speaker 1>but what people do with that luck is not. So

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<v Speaker 1>carve out some time to think about what you would

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<v Speaker 1>do if you suddenly had a lot more resources or attention.

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<v Speaker 1>Think about what projects you would like to try if

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<v Speaker 1>someone gave you the support you'd need to do it.

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<v Speaker 1>What people would you tap to help you? What would

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<v Speaker 1>success look like. Now we don't know exactly what stroke

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<v Speaker 1>of luck might visit, so you might want to think

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<v Speaker 1>through various different scenarios, and you might have a few

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<v Speaker 1>ideas that can work in any situation. For instance, it

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<v Speaker 1>helps to have a way to capture people's email addresses.

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<v Speaker 1>It helps to have more content to put out there.

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<v Speaker 1>It helps to always have things in progress, so when

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<v Speaker 1>a past work gets attention, you have something new to

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<v Speaker 1>put out there soon afterwards. But there is no reason

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<v Speaker 1>not to think about these things. I also think that

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<v Speaker 1>being ready to ride the wave will in some ways

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<v Speaker 1>make a good wave more likely. After all, when we

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<v Speaker 1>are ready for opportunity. We start to look for opportunity,

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<v Speaker 1>we follow a thread, we ask questions we might meet

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<v Speaker 1>with that extra person, and then sometimes amazing things start

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<v Speaker 1>to follow. So ask what you would do if things

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<v Speaker 1>went incredibly well, because maybe they will, and then you

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<v Speaker 1>will be ready to ride the wave. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

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<v Speaker 1>me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,

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<v Speaker 1>please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

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<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows.