Do You Really Know What You Are Doing, When You Say You Do?

I ask this question in light of the following story I received in reply to one of my Blogs. This is the story as related to me:

“Hi Walter: A little story that perhaps has some relevance to what you wrote. Some years back I worked for a man and he was walking past Melford Motors when they were in the Victoria Market end of Elizabeth St in the city. He stopped and saw in the window this gigantic great Ford Fairlane. It was around the very early sixties and most people would remember these cars as juggernauts. However, he fell in love with this car and decided he had to have it. Being not strapped for cash he went into the showroom and said to the salesman, "I have to have that car." The salesman said. "Okay but you'll have to wait until we get some more stock because that is the only one we have." He used to walk past the place often and stand there drooling like a kid looking in a lolly shop window just to make certain that 'his' car was still there.

Finally the day arrived when they rang him to say that he could come and pick up his car. At this point I should tell you that he was driving a Morris Minor. Not much difference to the Fairlane!!!! At any rate the salesman asked him if he had ever driven an automatic and of course he hadn't. They let him drive it around the block a few times and then he said he was okay. He started from Melford Motors and did a U-turn in Elizabeth Street and went down the service lane heading towards Victoria Street where he wished to make a left turn. When he arrived there the lights were against him as a Tram was turning from Elizabeth St into Victoria St. As the tram was passing in front of him he thought that the motor had stopped because he couldn't hear it. He blipped the throttle, (and yes you guessed it) he ran his brand new car straight into the side of the tram and that made quite a mess of it.

He arrived back at work less his new toy and with a very pained look on his face. It just goes to show how we can get caught up in something that is strictly material and how we can get chopped down very quickly. ****”

Has anything like that ever happened to you? A time where your pride or arrogance or self-confidence, has actually exceeded your real understanding? This man was lucky in that he only wiped out his car and not himself or someone on the tram.

There is nothing whatsoever wrong in being confident, nor in doing something new. But perhaps he would have been smarter to drive His new car around the suburbs first, to get a real feal for it before tackling the big city itself.

What about you? Don’t let this blog scare you off of doing something new or different but do practise it quietly first before you start to acting like a professional. What say you now?