Experiencing Colors That Are Real

We can wait our whole lives for someday opportunities, or we can make our opportunities for ourselves.

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He only worked there one summer—that space between high school and the rest of life—and the only thing Bob really remembers about his time at the factory is a conversation he had with the woman one day at lunch.
 
When Bob’s mother worked there two decades earlier, this same woman had already been there for decades, so he was curious to speak with her. “What’s her story?” he wondered silently to himself.
 
“I’m saving for retirement,” she answered out loud when they sat together at lunch.“I’m going to see the world!” She had been delaying gratification for decades, saving every spare penny for “someday.”
 
Bob didn’t think much of it at the time. After all, summer was brief, and he already had his own “someday” to think about. It wasn’t until years later that he thought about that conversation again, when he learned of the woman’s death—two weeks after retirement. All those years of waiting for a “someday” that never came.
 
She was finally ready for takeoff, but had run out of runway.
 
Isn’t It Ironic?
This story is reminiscent of Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic.”
 
🎶 Mr. Play-It-Safe was afraid to fly. He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye. He waited his whole damn life to take that flight—and as the plane crashed down he thought, "Well, isn't this nice?" And isn't it ironic? Don't you think?[1] 🎶
 
We can wait our whole lives for someday opportunities, or we can make our opportunities for ourselves, like Brandon did.
 
Making Someday Happen
All his life, Brandon Burlsworth dreamed of only one thing: playing for the Arkansas Razorbacks. But after high school, the Razorbacks didn’t make him an offer.
 
Instead of playing it safe by accepting a full ride scholarship at the school he didn’t want to attend, Brandon bet on himself by paying his own way as a walk-on at the University of Arkansas—but with no guarantee of ever earning a scholarship. He could only afford one year of tuition, so he doubled-down his efforts to prove himself, which is reminiscent of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s advise:
 
“If you're auditioning for something that you know you're never going to get…if you get a chance to act in a room that somebody else has paid rent for, then you're given a free chance to practice your craft. And in that moment, you should act as well as you can. Because when you leave the room and you have acted as well as you can, there's no way the people who have watched you will forget it.”[2]
 
It was a longshot, but Brandon took the opportunity to boldly step forward and perform. Every day, he was the first player on the field and the last to leave, and when his fellow teammates went off campus for parties and vacations, he would stay on campus to continue training. The coaches took notice, and by the end of his freshman year, Brandon earned a full scholarship and a starting position on the offensive line.
 
Instead of waiting for the opportunity of someday, Brandon made the opportunity himself—and became captain of the team, received the coveted College Football All-America award, and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts as a starter for the 1999 season.
 
Imagine if Brandon had waited for someday? It would have never come. Two weeks after being drafted by the Colts, he was involved in an automobile accident that took his life.
 
We can choose to wait our whole lives for the right opportunity to take flight, or we can choose to make every day an opportunity to tiptoe through the tulips—much like the fashionable Dutch society did in 1636. But then again, they took it quite literally.
 
Tiptoe Through Tulipomania
No one knows for sure how it all got started. The tulip had only recently been introduced to the Netherlands, so perhaps the rich colors of the petals became a status symbol to the rich (or those who wished to be rich).
 
Regardless of how it started, as demand for the flower rose, so did the price—and people began buying and selling bulbs sight unseen hoping for an opportunity to make a quick profit. But the investment came at considerable risk: some tulip bulbs were selling for more than ten times the annual income of a skilled artisan!
 
But by February 1637, tulip prices sank suddenly when the bulb bubble burst. Speaking about the rise and fall of Tulip Mania in his book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, the author Charles Mackay said:
 
“Many who, for a brief season, had emerged from the humbler walks of life, were cast back into their original obscurity. Substantial merchants were reduced almost to beggary, and many a representative of a noble line saw the fortunes of his house ruined beyond redemption.”[3]
 
Experiencing Colors that Are Real
Yes, what goes up must surely come down; and as the “Spinning Wheel” also reminds us:
 
🎶 Did you find the directing sign on the / Straight and narrow highway? / Would you mind a reflecting sign? / Just let it shine within your mind / And show you the colors that are real.[4] 🎶
 
Perhaps if the bulb traders were more interested in the experience of “the colors that are real,” rather than the made-up numbers on a ledger line, they might not have been “ruined beyond redemption.”
 
Perhaps.
 
As for the woman who “waited her whole damn life” in the factory, she was certainly interested in the colors that are real; and even though he expressed it differently, Brandon was also interested in the colors.
 
Sure, the woman may have also been interested in the money, but it wasn’t the money per se that she was after; rather, she set it aside as she waited for an experience.
 
Brandon didn’t wait for the experience; instead, he blew through his life’s savings in a year. For him, the money was less important than the experience he pursued.
 
We often describe people who lack experience using words like naive and immature. Perhaps these same words can be used to describe people who seek happiness and fulfillment in removable things rather than authentic experiences. As Jack Johnson reminds us:
 
🎶 And cars and phones and diamond rings / Bling, bling, 'cause those are only removable things / And what about your mind? / Does it shine? / Are there things that concern you more than your time?[5] 🎶
 
Final Thoughts
We can wait our whole lives for someday opportunities, or we can make our opportunities for ourselves.
 
And what about Bob? As his someday gets closer and closer he’s been thinking about that summer at the factory and the woman who ran out of runway. He wants to experience the colors that are real, so this September, he’s cashing in his chips and retiring—to make the most of the runway he has left.[6]
 
Reflection
What opportunities are you making for yourself? Are they experiences? Or are they removable things?
 
Your Next Step
As a storyteller, magician, musician, and facilitator of fascination, my mission is to help individuals, teams, and communities experience abiding joy. You can get started today by accepting your invitation to Grow with the Flow, a self-paced personal growth journey.
 
With Joy --
Jonas
 
P.S. If you’d like to work together, here’s how:

• Buy a book.
• Join Grow with the Flow.
• Attend a virtual workshop.
• Book me to speak with your group.

References & Footnotes
[1] Alanis Morissette. (1996). Ironic [Song]. On Jagged little pill. Maverick; Warner Bros.
[2] Hoffman, P.S.. (2006, January 16). [Interview]. 63rd Golden Globe Awards. NBC.
[3] Mackay, C. (1841). Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. Richard Bentley.
[4] Blood, Sweat & Tears. (1969). Spinning Wheel [Song]. On Blood, Sweat & Tears. Columbia.
[5] Jack Johnson. (2003). Gone [Song]. On On And On. The Moonshine Conspiracy Records.
[6]  When I’m playing the saxophone every summer in the Belchertown Community Band, Bob sits behind me playing trumpet. He’s lived a life that’s full—as a musician, educator, and person. It’s safe to say that Bob has been experiencing the colors that are real his whole life; and now, perhaps he’ll get to experience even more of what the palette has to offer.