Every opportunity has an expiration date. Exceptional people, communities, businesses and teams possess the ability to move fast—sort of like merging into oncoming traffic at breakneck speed at College and I-10.
Many people I know are more afraid of making a wrong move than making no move at all. Not me. I’ve been alive long enough to know that if I just sit at the intersection after the green light has come on, all of the other cars will pass me by in the other lanes. In other words, the opportunity has passed me by—forever. For some people, moving forward might mean starting their own business or stepping up for a promotion at work. For others it could be volunteering for a new project, going back to school, buying a new home or even deciding to tie the knot with the one you love—before they move on. Regardless of the great or risky opportunity you may be contemplating, consider this: the cost of missing out can be far greater than the cost of messing up. That’s because the opportunity of a lifetime must be seized in the lifetime of the opportunity. You may never get that same opportunity again.
I believe we have several opportunities in this city and state that will lay a strong foundation for the next generation if we have the guts to take a risk. If we took a poll of the citizens of the 225 area and asked what are the top three challenges or problems we face, I believe, in no certain order, most people would say education, crime and poverty, with an overburdened infrastructure coming in fourth place. Would you agree?