If I had only known...

Wow. If I had only known. How many of us have said that over the years ?

If I had only known that the project I was working on would have gone this long without payment, I never would have done it...

If I had only known that guy was going to be such a jerk I never would have taken his contract...

If I had only known... It's usually the start of a sentence that has a negative connotation to it about something that has happened that affected us in some great manner and changed or shaped our lives in a certain direction depending on how brave, adventurous or how pressured we felt at the time.

Now I have a new challenge for you.

Make it a positive. If I had only known how it would have turned out or how long it would have taken I never would have pursued it, but I did and look at where we ended up. As I have more and more challenges that are added onto my already overburdened schedule and I struggle to find my way, I get reminded every once in a while that the burden is lighter when its dealt with in a positive way; and so my friends and colleagues I challenge you - turn "if I had only known" into a positive and make yourself smile with the realization that it lifted the burden just a bit.

Trust me. You'll be glad you did.

M. Levesque

P.S. Learning to duck is key when there are long heavy aluminum rails being shoved into a storage rack and your head suddenly finds itself between the rail being loaded and the rack that it is being forcibly thrown into...