Watched a good movie last night entitled Once. It is a romance about two musicians who meet briefly and in the short period their lives crossed, they made an indelible impression on each other. Both the actors, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, are talented musicians and the movie soundtrack is excellent. However the essence of the plot was all about seizing opportunities that may come along just once in our lives. On Friday Guth grabbed at the chance to hike in the White Mountains, it was a first time experience and since her return she has talked about little else. Six years ago I was offered a job in the US, it took me just a few minutes to say “yes” on the basis that if things didn’t work out I could always go back to the life I had left behind, but if I’d hesitated and declined, I may have regretted the missed opportunity for the rest of my live. Fortunately the move worked out and I can’t conceive what might have happened had I taken what might have been the ‘easier’ option. Since then, I’ve been much more attune to the attitude of ‘just go for it’and in doing so you realize that many opportunities don’t fall into your lap, they are made and it is much more of a matter of recognizing them. I now try to follow this attitude in running. If a race sounds ‘crazy’, I’m interested, if the gradient profile looks monstrous, I’m interested. Of course things like this shouldn’t be considered lightly, you still need to have confidence in your ability; so to take on a new adventure you may need to be patient and build experience over time. The Grand Slam has been on my to do list for three years and I already have ideas for 2009 and beyond.

Many of my friends joke about not looking into my eyes for fear of being persuaded to do something they hadn’t considered possible. But you really can’t make people do things they don’t want to. An adventurous spirit is in us all, we sometimes just allow the more mundane aspects of our lives to mask it. To be around people who have attained a goal they previously though out of their reach is infectious and sometimes it is as much fun to watch someone else achieve their goal as it is to reach your own as this can also sow the seed of our own desires.

Never lose sight of the fact that the next opportunity may present itself just once -it’s your call whether you take it or not.

In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity. - Albert Einstein