Some weeks ago I was talking about how I have always been patient when working a deal. Patience, as the old and famous cliché by now says, is a virtue.  No joke, it is!  I was talking about that and the way that I usually approach any new situation is to be diligent in my research, aggressive on the imagination and patient on the negotiation.  It has worked for me for years.  The only thing that sometime makes a difference is: how much do you need a deal to go through?

This is exactly where most of us mess up and appear over-anxious, under-prepared or, why not, we just need to get a break.  Well, the reasoning is that a deal is a deal, no matter what you think of it, no matter how much you push it, the deal is the same deal.  You can try to change it, but the essence of it being good or bad is what you make of it and the terms of engagement should be delimited at the start.  Sometimes, by hurrying things up, we only lose our ground at the big-boys table.  Sometimes the best thing is to wait until all stars align and you consider everything correct.  Sometimes…..

Other times you have to grab opportunities and run with them.  Weren’t we talking about patience?  Well, let me put it to you this way.  You are trying to catch a fish on the river, it usually takes 20 minutes for them to start biting, you know this by experience.  The weather is perfect, you are enjoying the day out or it might be scorching and you want to get out there, well, in any case, you are going to have to wait the 20 usual minutes.  That is the patience we are discussing.  If a usual fishing expedition takes this long, well, so be it.  Enjoy the day or cover your head, either way, you are waiting 20 minutes.  Deals are like that as well.

But what happens if, as you are waiting for 10 minutes, an eagle soars up from the lake with a big fish and loses its grip and guess what, it lands right on the boat.  The drop numbs him.  What do you do?  Do you call the eagle on its cell phone and tell him you have something that is his? (male eagle), do you throw the fish back in the water and say a prayer for him? do you save him on the cooler and go home?  do you save him on the cooler and wait your other 10 minutes to get your usual fish?

Well, not to break any rules of fishing etiquette, and assuming you can keep the fish that fell from the eagle’s grasp without a lawsuit of some kind by an idiot, I would say that the opportunity landed on you and you must take advantage of it while you take care of your usual business. You must be decisive and make sure not to lose focus of you current task.  You fishing technique always yields as patience pays off.  The opportunity that dropped by (pun intended) is an extra good thing that you will immediately take advantage of and also take care in the immediate future.

This week, the eagle dropped something and we are keeping it. We will keep at our current pace and enjoy this opportunity.  We should be thankful for our work that we were in the right boat, on the right lake and that the arthritic eagle was passing by.

Stay Calm and Keep Humble…