18 Feb 2008 04:53:16 | Charles Burke
Tonight half of southern Japan is hunched down awaiting the
arrival of the typhoon. This is #15 for the Pacific region this
year, and the third one in about six weeks to come our way.
By the way, if you're not quite sure what a typhoon is, it's the
Asian name for tropical storms or hurricanes.
Our little town of about 18,000 has only one industry -- its
white beach -- and it waits all year for the two hottest summer
months when hundreds of thousands of vacationers come from all
over Japan to lie in the sun and play in the peaceful little
bay.
And this particular night, the town had planned its annual
fireworks display. They have something called "Message
Fireworks" where a visitor pays up to a hundred dollars for
somebody to read an announcement of his undying love just before
a volley of fireworks are fired off. This one event raises many
thousands of dollars for the town.
In addition, the local merchants make a sizeable part of their
yearly profit during the summer months.
But tonight the beach is dark. No fireworks will dazzle the
crowds tonight. No concession booths will sell snacks, and no
families will congregate to enjoy the summertime display.
All those plans. All the money invested in food, in merchandise,
in giant fireworks that shoot two hundred meters into the air.
So when a typhoon comes -- and no amount of "positive thinking"
will stop it happening from time to time -- the merchants here
just sigh, suck it up, and go to Plan B, which is to try again
tomorrow night. And if that doesn't work, then next weekend.
You see, they've seen it all before. They know that sometimes
things WILL get in the way of their plans. So they stay
flexible. They have contingencies, Plan B's and even Plan C's.
Now, the point I'm making is not that weather is a doggone
nuisance.
Instead, I invite you to consider one question: how flexible are
you prepared to be? (The operative word is "prepared".)
When stuff happens -- and it will -- what's your Plan B and your
Plan C? Don't have one? Then shouldn't you think about getting
one?
Because stuff WILL happen. That's just the way life brings you
special opportunities you never expected, never imagined, and
never wanted. But once life brings it on, you need to be
prepared to deal with it.
Like a boy scout, you need to be prepared with backup plans.
But to have a backup plan, you first need a main plan. And of
course you've got one of those... right?
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