Obstacles are opportunities. 

Opportunities in disguise, with the right mindset, you will realize that when committed, you can accomplish anything. For example, we are all committed to Toastmasters, so when the pandemic affected the entire world, our response was to embrace the opportunity to grow online.  

At 19 years, I immigrated from Trinidad to the United States with my younger brother. Our father lived in Boston, Massachusetts.  Life moved fast once we arrived there because, within two days, I had a job working in a paintbrush factory. I was the human part of a paintbrush assembling machine. It was a repetitive and mind-numbing job. 

After one week, I looked at my tiny paycheck and immediately quit.  I remember, as I was walking out the door, the owner said to me; I thought you said you wanted to work?  I looked him straight in his blue eyes and said; "Yes, I want work, but I want work that pays.” 
I walked out on him and his job without any other job prospects.  I knew my father would be livid.  Obstacles are opportunities.  

At that point in my life, without a job in a land where everything cost cash.  Side note, Did you know that paid public toilets?  Yes, paid to pee.  

Anyway, I had to get a real job fast.  I wanted to continue my education, and I knew it would cost a lot more than I had to enroll in any of the universities.  I believed that it could be done, even starting with nothing. I asked myself, "how can I do it?"

 I started by going from door-to-door I realized that it was not easy for an immigrant with a high school education to get a job that paid much more than the brush factory. 

It was then that I saw the sign, big in red, white, and blue with the picture of a man in a top hat with his finger pointing to me. The poster read: Uncle Sam Wants You.  

Me, me, I want Uncle Sam too; I was desperate. The US at the time was pulling troops out of Vietnam. I reasoned with my little pea brain that they would never send me into a battle zone. My logic was simple; I could gain skill while in the Army, and after 3 years, I will be discharged then I would be eligible to attend any university with a stipend from the service. 

Two weeks after landing in the United States, I was on a bus heading to Fort Dix, New Jersey, to undergo three months of basic army training.  Obstacles are opportunities.  For me, obstacles have always turned into opportunities.

Here is another, when I lived in Trinidad, we called any local with an American accent; “Fresh Water Yankee”  

As Trinidadians, we hear when someone tries to speak with an American accent. What we don’t know; is what we sound like to an American when we speak with a Trinidad accent. The truth is, we sound like Trinidadians with an American accent.   It has always been impossible to hide my accent.  For example, one day, my drill Sargent in Ft Dix, New Jersey, asked me a question.  My answer was “no” the first words I had spoken to him. To my surprise, he asked; where are you from?

Believe it or not, I realized that communicating with Americans would be a challenge because we speak English but Trinbagonians speak at a much faster pace, with different intonations and missing pronouns. We understand each other well but even people from other English-speaking countries have to get used to the way we speak. I can empathize with people who speak a language other than English, my obstacle was a molehill. 

 I remember another incident when I was on a bus and knew the name of my destination but knew I would not recognize it. I thought it would be good to ask another passenger how many stops before we got there.  

So I turned to the guy next to me and asked: How many stops before Columbia Road?  He looked at me with a weird expression and did not respond.  I persisted; how many stops to Columbia Road?  He looked at me again, and in a condescending tone, he said, “Sorry, I don't speak Spanish”  That day, I was so embarrassed, got off at the wrong stop.

My challenge was to speak so I could be understood, knowing that there is no way to hide my accent.  Fortunately, when I join the service, I was surrounded by men and women from different states. Each with different variations of American accents, I was in the right place to learn how to communicate with any American. 

I was able to communicate with everyone. I actually became an expert Fresh Water Yankee. Later, I used my newly acquired American accent to become recognized as one of the most productive salespeople in my industry in one of the largest metropolitan markets in the US.  Obstacles are indeed opportunities.

Something I learned a long time ago, and that is when your mind says; “I can’t, it's impossible. Don’t believe yourself; instead, stop and ask yourself. How?  How can you get through, over, around, or under the obstacle.  Your mind will answer with a solution.

Give it a shot, start believing that obstacles in life are opportunities.