The chance missed years ago

The other day, somebody told me a story about how her former friend escaped the friendzone and became her husband.

She was in the middle of a divorce process with her then-husband and her then-friend was helping her move into her apartment.

She mentioned that she appreciated that she had such a good friend to confide in, but before she could finish her sentence, he stopped her right there.

"I don't want to be considered as a friend anymore.
I want to be more than that."

Her then-friend admitted he missed his chance years ago, and that he didn't want to miss it again.

They went on a date and have been together ever since.

You only get one shot? Yes, but no

Eminem is one of my favorite rappers, but when he says that you only get one shot, he's only half-right.

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You only get one shot in a particular moment in time, but that shot isn't gone for good in every scenario.

This lady's husband missed his shot the first time around, and it could've been gone forever had she not gotten divorced.

As fate would have it, he ended up getting another window of opportunity years later, and he did not pass it up.

Here's the thing.

I talk quite a bit about getting things right the first time, and I still believe that that's important, when possible.

This former friend could've shot his shot years and years ago, but for reasons unknown, he didn't.

I'm not necessarily blaming him because I don't know his circumstances, but the bottom line is that he wished he took action back then, and he didn't.

And when it comes to meeting the right people in your life, meeting them sooner is always better than meeting them later.

However...

While he missed his shot the first time, he took the window of opportunity the second time it popped up, and I give him props for doing so.

The most important shot you can take is the one that first shows up. The second most important shot is the one that shows up later.

And if you nail it down the second time and succeed, congratulations are in order.

However...

You're not guaranteed a second chance

While we're busy applauding what this lady's friend had the guts to do, let's also bring up an important reminder.

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You're not guaranteed a second chance once you miss the first one.

As I previously mentioned, the friend could've missed his chance forever had the divorce never happened.

I don't want to make "prevention is better than cure" the focus of this article, because I already wrote and linked to an article about this topic above.

However, you're still better off nailing the chance while it's in your hand.

Whatever it is that's holding you back from getting it right the first time:

you gotta get over it.

You'll never know what could've been if you let opportunities pass you by.

And you shouldn't let them slip away, thinking that the chance or moment could circle around back to you someday.

Some of these things do circle back, and if you missed them the first time, you better be ready to jump on it.

Just remember that not everything is guaranteed to come back around, ready and available for you to snatch.