The Door You Weren’t Looking For

Sometimes the best opportunities aren’t on your radar

You’ve heard the saying... when one door closes, another opens.

Kind of a cheesy line, right? But it’s true… if you know how to look for it.

My wife and I had been saving up, hoping to buy a house. We started looking around just to see what was out there... and it didn’t take long to realize how insane the market is. Interest rates are high, and housing prices have almost quadrupled in the last decade.

I mean, part of me jokes that I should’ve skipped elementary school and bought a house instead...

So we kept looking. Talked about renting. Talked about buying land. Nothing really felt like it fit. In the meantime, we just kept living life... saving, waiting, watching.

One night we were sitting on the back patio at my in-law’s house. Next door, there’s a big empty lot with this huge metal shed on it. The kind of shed that could be used for anything. And out of nowhere, the thought came up... what if we bought that lot from them?

We’d always liked the idea of building a barndominium—basically a big metal building that looks like a shop on the outside, but you design the inside like a house.

So we threw it out there... just a casual what-if. What if we offered to buy that part of their land and converted the shed into a home?

To our surprise, they were totally open to it. Not only that... they even offered to help. They worked with us to create a plan where we’d renovate the building first, and then buy the land from them afterward… for the same price they originally paid for it years ago.

That blew me away. They bought that property nearly seven years ago, back when land was a lot more affordable. And suddenly, here we were... with an opportunity we weren’t even looking for.

It reminded me that sometimes the doors that open aren't the ones you were searching for. They’re the ones you notice when you’re just paying attention.

The same thing happened with my business.

I’ve been running my social media business for a while now. Had success with it. But I never really pushed it... never really went all in.

Earlier this year, a friend of mine and client… started building a course on local SEO. I found the idea interesting, but I wasn’t actively looking for anything new. A couple weeks ago we were on vacation and decided to stop and meet up with him in person and grab a meal.

He’s become more of a mentor lately. And he gave me full access to his premium coaching program… for free. No strings attached. This is something he normally charges quite a bit for... and he just handed it over.

So I dove into it. And I was excited by how valuable it was. I didn’t expect to find a new direction or a fresh business idea, but the opportunity showed up anyway… because I stayed open to learning. Open to growth.

That’s the point of all this.

You might feel like nothing is happening... like there’s no clear opportunity in sight. But if you stay patient... if you stay present... things have a way of unfolding.

I don’t know exactly what the future holds. But I do know this—my only job is to stay present... take the next step... and keep my eyes open.

It reminds me of something a guest once said on a podcast I listened to. He said: “All you can do is all you can do in the moment. You can’t do any more than that.”

It stuck with me. Because it’s true. Take care of what’s in front of you... and trust the rest will take care of itself.

Marcus Aurelius wrote about this too. In Meditations, he reminds us to focus only on what we can control. Let go of everything else. The worry... the uncertainty... the need to force everything into place.

Just be where you are... and do the next right thing. Everything else will come in time.