So what is all this nonsense about following the green lights? Well, as it says in the introduction, this is one of my core principles for getting through life and I wanted to write a BLOG about this and several of my other guiding principles in life. Who knows, at some point I might move the entire thing away from being a web log and actually try to publish the lot.
Oh yes. Rather than have some literary genious with a bucket full of PhDs try to interpret why my writing style is the way it is, I thought I'd just tell you. My grammar and vocabularly is being particularly influenced at this time by merit of the fact that I'm living in London. And London is just one of the many places I've arrived after following a long row of green lights!
But where did this idea come from?In January 2000 I was sitting in a tiny cafe in the Village in Manhattan having a coffee with my good friend Sam. I was doing a bit of writing when all at once I was overcome by the idea that I something major was about to happen to me in my life. I raised my pen and said, "Sam, I'm on the precipice of a great change!" -- to which Sam replied, "Huh? What?"
Only a month later I had been inspired to go out and look for a new job.
Within only a few weeks I had narrowed the prospects down to two. One - a job in Atlanta with a small start-up company that I had worked for previously. And two - a job with a different startup company recently moved to Silicon Valley. Both were really good jobs that I was well qualified for.
So far so good - right? Wrong. There's a problem. I don't like California. I don't want to move to California. I think that Atlanta is much more the place to be. Some of my friends have recently moved to Atlanta, it's got great night life and at least a dozen other ponits that make me think that Atlanta is the place for me to be! And this is the way that I think about my situation purely from a self-will perspective. But, as with many points in life there are other considerations.
Just about the time I get ready to go to Atlanta for the final interview a few red lights start popping up. First, the company is not very stable any more as they may be acquired soon. Then the CEO calls and says that he needs to reschedule my interview time. And finally - the flight to Atlanta is cancelled. Not one red light but three!
While at the roughly the same time the California job is tugging at me. The people are great, the company is growing, the salary is not so bad and all of my travel to California goes really smoothly. I get an easy sense that maybe things won't be so bad after all. That's right - a row of green lights.
Late one evening I'm sitting around with a close friend discussing my situation. My personal preference is still Atlanta - but everything else around me is pushing me towards California. It's a dilema. I have a history of being very stubborn and pig headed (born in Missouri - stubborn as a Missouri mule!) and I know how to dig my heels in a move heaven and hell to get what I want. And I know that if I really work hard I can get the Atlanta job for sure. -- This would be the equivalent of running a bunch of red lights with a bull dozer -- Or I can take the easier softer way.
I can sit back and take it easy. I can accept the job in California - complete with relocation, people I know and trust and the promise of a good future in the Silicon Valley. I can follow the green lights and go with the flow.
So what did I do?Well - I did follow the green lights. And am I glad that I did? Within 2 months the company in Atlanta had laid off all the staff and gone out of business - and the CEO was no where to be found. Whilst over in Silicon Valley everything had gone off without a hitch. The new job was everything I'd wanted and quite a bit more. Not to mention that if I hadn't made it to Silicon Valley when I did I don't know that I would have wound up where I am today - living in London.
So what's the point?When I am facing a situation where I have a really strong desire to go a certain way but everything around me is a flashing red light, I take that as my sign to stop and look around me. Somehwere there is a green light. Somewhere is a path or a choice or a direction that is meant for me. It may not be the one I think I want - but it is obviously the right one for me. These days I make it a habit of always stopping to look for the green lights in my life.
* And yes - I have an idea who's running traffic control, but you'll have to keep reading to find out about that!
