Out of Your Control

 The Ringmaster has the greatest impact on the circus.

(Juggling Elephants, page 30)

 

Yesterday I talked with someone who really understands their circus and their role as the ringmaster. They make a living taking transcriptions. They are responsible for transcribing official meetings, court proceedings and other discussions where every word must be captured correctly.

In asking about her schedule, she told me that she previously had tried to sometimes schedule 2 appointments per day. The challenge came when one meeting ran longer than expected. She couldn't leave her current location to get to the other meeting. If she missed the other meeting, it caused a myriad of problems for the other group. Her solution? In her words, "I only schedule one meeting per day because I have no control over the length of the meeting." The additional stress and possible loss of business was not worth it.

  

If we are honest with ourselves, there are some things over which we have no control. Whether it's the length of a meeting, time of a project, or an uncertain economy. In those moments, we have to make the conscious decision to limit our lineup and not keep adding acts that we most likely will not be able to perform. As the ringmaster, we need to add them to the lineup when it best fits our opportunity to perform them.