Well, here is another story. If you don’t like stories, you probably won’t like this lesson either.

I want you to imagine that you are a lion in Africa; you’re hungry and haven’t eaten in days. In addition, you are tired and if you don’t make a kill soon and bring back some food to your cubs all of you will starve to death.

So, what do you do?

You go find a big tree and lay under it in the shade. It's not because you are lazy; it's because you are smart. You have learned from your mistakes and realize that waiting is quite often the best strategy to win.

You notice a cloud of dust about a mile away. It’s a herd of antelope heading in your direction. You wait and quietly watch them approach. Why? Because you know that your best chance is to wait for the perfect opportunity to present itself and that takes time! Another lesson you learned the hard way, is not to chase the herd but wait for the herd to come to you.

There is a big male leading the herd that would be a great catch (pun intended). Not only would it feed me and all my cubs, but all the others in my pride, and I might even get some respect on top of a great meal. But then I come to my senses.

I realize I will probably only have one chance to take down an antelope today. The big male, as good as he looks would be the wrong choice because the risk I have to take is too much, so I wait. Minutes seem like hours while the sun is going down. Then I realize that the sun going down is a good thing because lions see better at night and antelopes don't. That’s another advantage for me, reducing my risk and increasing my odds of success.

The sun finally went down and almost all the antelopes have passed. But out of the corner of my eye, I finally see what I’ve been waiting for. It’s an old three-legged male; an easy kill, and I feel that I have very little risk now. (That's not true because he does have four legs, but it goes well with the storyline). I look all around me and decide to slowly and carefully look everything over one more time to make sure the odds of success are in my favor before I attempt the takedown.

I ran it down. It was easy and I ate my fill and then dragged the caucus back so my cubs could eat. Others in the pride came over and ate and then roared their approval.

I fell asleep feeling like a winner. As I was falling asleep I thought how glad I was that I didn’t go after the first big male. I waited for the perfect opportunity. I understand that not everything is as easy as it looks. Waiting really did pay off. (Pun intended)

I hope that you remember this story; be a lion, wait for the right trade to come your way, and then have the courage to take it.