A man arrives in a new country, and hails a taxi at the airport.  Not long into the journey, the driver runs a red light.  “Excuse me, but you just ran a red light!” the passenger says.  “Oh, don’t worry about it.  My brother does it all the time.”

The driver then runs the next red light, and offers the same, “Don’t worry about it, my brother does it all the time.”  This happens over and over until they get to a green light, and then the driver STOPS!

Exasperated, the passenger says, “I just don’t get it.  You run all the red lights, and then STOP at a green light?!”  To which the driver replies, “Well yes.  My brother might be coming the other way.”

Living a carefree life that ignores the rules sometimes sounds appealing. But the fact that we share this world with others means that, in order to survive, we soon discover that new rules must be created to compensate for the loss of the others.  And that which was once a pathway can become a hindrance.

Don’t focus on the red lights, the obstacles, and that which seems confining.  Focus on the green lights.  (Zig Ziglar calls them “Go lights.”)  Focus on the pursuit of opportunities (you gotta look for them).  Focus on that which makes us better.

(A big thanks to my dad for the taxi story, a favorite joke when I was growing up.  See Dad’s latest blog entry, “Uncle Therman’s Secrets of Success,” at www.duniganreport.com.)