Two inches to the left...

I almost died on Tuesday.

Well, maybe that's a bit dramatic... but not by much.

I was at this casual business mastermind retreat in Scottsdale. You know, one of those events where entrepreneurs pay large amounts of money to network and pretend we're not just there for the pool and pickleball.

The AirBnB was right next to a golf course. Looked public, not private, if you know what I mean.

Anyways, we were in the middle of a brainstorming session on the back patio when it happened.

WHAM!

Something shot past my face so fast I felt the air move against my cheek.

A golf ball.

Some mighty but undisciplined retiree with an overpriced driver had shanked his tee shot directly at us, and that little white missile missed my face by exactly 2 inches.

Two. Freaking. Inches.

The others at the table stared in shock.

“Holy sh*t, you almost died!”

We found the ball near the edge of the patio.

“Kirkland Signature.”

(Golf bros are knowingly shaking their heads right now.)

I pocketed the ball, and we continued with our event.

I may not have a “Hole in One” trophy, but I think I’ll have a “Boy Who Lived” version made for this thing…

I’m not telling you this to make you feel bad for me, or jealous that I got a free golf ball.

Rather, it’s because business success works exactly the same way as my near miss.

Controlled preparation + Fortunate timing

Was my spared life a result of cat-like reflexes, or dumb luck?

Prolly a little of both.

The most successful entrepreneurs I know all have stories where they worked insanely hard to develop their skills... but also happened to be in exactly the right place at the right time.

Preparation.

Timing.

But you see, you only have control over one of them.

I hope you realize which one.

(Which is, by the way, why buying lottery tickets is stupid.)

The only way to stack the deck towards being in exactly in the right place at the right time is to be so good that you can turn any chance event into an “opportunity.”

Make sense?

If so, your next question is “how should I be preparing?”

Well, I do not plan to share that with you today.

Maybe later.

Take care,

Greg