The friends we stayed with in England were watching me make my morning nutrition drink. I turned on the blender and said that this is how I prepare my breakfast each day. I had the right convertor plug and I had turned on the power switch at an outlet (which you do there). I told them that making my shake would be simple to do.Even though I had electric converters for my trip to the UK, I didn't realize there are different voltages for different plugs. Shortly after the blender started, it emitted clouds of smoke and the motor breathed its last. Maureen and Allan, our friends, both looked at the blender go up in smoke. Maureen said, “Is it supposed to do that?” I smiled and said it was—that I had recently perfected a new “shake en flambe” recipe.So within a few hours of being in their home I almost created a fire in their kitchen. After airing out the room, we went to a local catalog pickup store and bought an inexpensive blender to get me through my stay there.As I took the new blender (made in the UK) out of the box, I looked at the instruction manual. The cover said, "Ignore. Fail. Read. Succeed. " That caught my attention. I don't know if you're like me, but many times I take a stab at setting up something new I purchased without the instruction manual. I think I learned it from my dad. He used to put things together so easily and then sit back to read the instruction booklet at the end. “Now, let’s see if we did what we were supposed to”, he would say.The blender instruction manual set on the kitchen counter for several days and made me think about how important it is to read so that you fully understand something new. After all, if someone invented something, they probably have been through the trials and errors as they developed it.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Think about something that takes too long or isn't turning out the way you want it to. Is there something you should study or someone you could talk to who has had more experience with the process? Check for the root cause of the challenge and then come up with a plan to point you toward success.
