The moment you've been waiting for

There may have been some luck along the way, but Dr. Chang-Díaz didn’t just end up in an EVA suit helping to build the International Space Station. (NASA photo)

When I was a young musician, I was fully steeped in the twentieth century idea of being “discovered” by a record company executive.

To a degree, that was still how things worked back then—and even today. However, they never really worked that way anyway. If you want to “make it,” you have to already have the look or sound that the industry was seeking. The stories of being plucked from obscurity make their way around the world because they are ridiculous fairy tales, not business as usual.

I clung to that fantasy anyway. But if an A&R guy showed up in my life, I would not have impressed him. I had no following, no polished demo, no band, and not much of a compelling live show. I would not have been ready.

Looking back, I was so unprepared for my big break that I wouldn’t have even recognized it when it showed up. In fact, opportunities were all around me. Living in a major city, connected to the music world, I knew people who knew people. If I had been good enough and consistent enough, I would have done just fine. I didn’t know how close I could have been to having exactly what I was looking for, if only I’d been willing to do the hard work.

I think about this now with a lot more reference points than I had when I was younger. I’ve helped connect kids to casting directors and had various spaces scouted by location managers; it doesn’t pay off every time, but when it does, it is big. I’ve mentored teenagers who went on to become professional musicians. I’ve helped my clients with five- and six-figure launches. I’ve even been in the position to offer someone their dream job.

What I’ve learned from these experiences is that the most successful people meet an opportunity halfway. They are already at the station, suitcase in hand, when the train pulls up. They have one foot against the bag, glove open and waiting. They’re dressed in head-to-toe rhinestones and standing on stage as the curtain opens. Choose the metaphor that best suits you—the point is, they aren’t dithering or wondering. They expect their ship to come in and are there standing on the dock to greet it.

I’ve also observed that the most successful people are shrewd. They know their own value. But at the same time, they know where to compromise. They grab the rung of the ladder they have access to, understanding that they can keep climbing from there. In other words, they aren’t holding out for a better offer out of fear. They leap when it’s time to leap.

I’ve made the mistake of trying to decide how many socks I’ll need when I’m already supposed to be at the airport (literally and figuratively). I’ve also said no out of confusion and uncertainty when a “yes” could have made magic happen. However, over the years, I’ve gotten better at being in the right place at the right time. I’ve improved at identifying a life-changing offer when it is made.

What really surprises me is how understated it all is. When you’re expecting the next step, taking it is easy and obvious. This is the moment you’ve been waiting for, but nothing is really different. You just sign the contract or click the button or embrace the person, and then you continue living your life. You’re still on the path you were already on.

In fact, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for. Right here, right now. Whatever you are looking for, whatever you hope to achieve, it begins this way. The present is leading you inexorably to your future, and you get to choose what that will look like based on what you do.

When you work backward from the big break you long for, you can see the actions and practices that are necessary and the elements you will need to have in place that will allow that next step to be so easy and obvious that you can’t miss it. That’s what it takes. Then, you have to have the confidence to say yes. Will you? Of course, because you will have been saying yes all along—to yourself.