Are you feeling stuck? I empathize with the feeling that the way forward seems blocked. To add insult to injury, it’s particularly frustrating if that blockage is something imposed on you by someone or something else and remains seemingly outside of your control.
Sometimes it helps to be inspired by the tenacity that is found inside of the human organism. If you forget how powerful you are, I’d like to share the story about how a young Kenneth Cole found a work around to start a shoe store in New York City when doing so was seemingly impossible.
The year is 1982 and a young Kenneth Cole has negotiated terms on 40,000 pairs of shoes from his supplier. While he has some shoes on the way, he needed to make fast action on selling them so he could actually pay for them. Stuck in a precarious position, the designer couldn’t afford commercial space in his New York City neighborhood (Obstruction!), but he did want to participate in the important industry event called Market Week where designers meet potential buyers. Unfortunately, however, when he went to buy a suite to do business at the conference he learned the price tag also wasn’t feasible for the fledgling company. Obstruction!
Thinking fast, Kenneth Cole borrowed a 40-foot truck trailer to house his wares and to host a makeshift exhibit for his new brand. His idea was to park the trailer near the Hilton host site and participate in the conference from his satellite suite. When he approached city officials to permit the truck to be parked, he learned about extensive limitations that would make his permit process improbable. Obstruction!
Like water, the entrepreneur adapted to each intersecting challenge and soon learned that two types of permits were, in fact, legally issued for these types of parking needs: utility company usage and production company usage. Opportunity!
Kenneth Cole famously submitted to New York City a permit for the placement of the truck for the filming of his debut documentary film entitled, “The Birth of a Shoe Company.” The film, of course, wasn’t real, but during the two and half days of Market Week, Kenneth Cole (the brand) was able to secure buyers for all 40,000 pairs of shoes, pay his supplier, and solidified a launching point for what is now the very real shoe company worth hundreds of millions today.
Keep going.
12/1/20 WOD
DEUCE ATHLETICS GPP
[Meet at Anderson Park]
DEUCE BACKLOT GPP
[Meet at Pan Pacific Park]
DEUCE GARAGE GPP
Complete 4 rounds of the following complex:
1 High Hang Snatch High Pulls
2 High Hang Muscle Snatches
-Rest :60-
Then, complete 5 rounds of the following complex:
1 Hang Power Snatch
2 Power Snatches
-Rest :90-
Then, AMRAP 20
6 Box Jumps (24/20)
12 Athletic Burpees
18 Hand Release Pushups
200m Run