In July 1994 I first published Big Dreams, and in that first issue was an article on "Duncan's Fridge Theory". That was over 10 years ago. It was one of the most popular articles, even though it was brief. It went like this:

Long ago I worked in a restaurant, in Manchester, England. It was when I was around 16 - 18 years old, while I was studying for my A levels. It was a fish and chips take out on one side, and a dine-in restaurant on the other. I mostly worked in the kitchen, and sometimes served the counters on the take out side.

My boss was quite wise, in what I think of as kitchen wisdom. You have to have your wits about  you to take care of all your customers, especially during rush hours when it got busy. The phrase "work smarter, not harder" comes to mind. Anyways, one night he gave me something to put in the fridge, yet when I got to the fridge, I found that the fridge was full.

"There's no space in the fridge." I told my boss.

"Then make space." Was his reply.

He then showed me how, by emptying a half full container of rice into another, thus freeing up some space. When I approached the fridge, I was more a victim of the circumstances, whereas he was in control of them. He changed things around to achieve his objective. It was an important lesson I learned that night. I have since carried that learning to other parts of my life.

In life, we are not as helpless as we may think. It is just a question of priorities. For example, if you are out of space, then create space. You can take out something to make the space for something more important. If you don't have the time, and it is important to you, then you will make the time. If you don't have the money you need for some project, then find ways to make money.

Don't let not having enough of anything become an excuse that prevents you from getting what you want in life. The universe is unlimited, and only your limited thinking makes it so.

Duncan

(Please share your own thoughts and experiences below)