A few months ago, I pulled into a store parking lot and noticed six college students having an animated conversation about a quarter on the ground next to them, and who would pick it up.

While the topic changed a few times, it kept returning to the quarter. For several minutes, I wondered who would reach down, yet no one did. When they finally left to go into the store, one of them said, “If it’s still there when we come out, I’m going to take it”.

Six educated people spent five minutes looking at, thinking about, and discussing a quarter at their feet, and did nothing. And, while this may seem ridiculous, we all do it, in our own way, every day.

Whether it is someone new we meet, a promising idea, a request for help, or a project assigned to us, we look at, think about, and sometimes even discuss opportunities at our feet… and then do nothing.

Consider the alternative.

Imagine it was you, and you reached down to pick up the (symbolic) quarter. Consider the subtle influence it would have on how…
– you see yourself
– you would be viewed by others around you
– others would approach future moments with you
– these small shifts would affect the world around you

Every moment matters. Each can help us to have more meaning in our lives, adjust our direction, form new habits, and alter the speed at which we move. Collectively, they define us.

And, when we consider these moments as opportunities, we slowly shift from people who are waiting for their life… to people who are leading their life.

While we cannot take every opportunity, it is important to remember, in every moment is an opportunity.

And, yes… when they left, I walked over, and picked up that quarter.