Sometimes you just have to laugh...

Yesterday I had what was probably one of the funniest embarrassing moments of my career as a speaker. While it makes me look rather stupid, I thought it was worth sharing with you anyway...

On Saturday I spoke to the Atlantic Fabricare Association (an association of dry cleaners). The event went well and I happily accepted their cheque after the event, put it in my pocket and went home.

My wife and baby went with me on the trip and we didn't arrive back home until late that night. So when we got home I was tired and wanted to get to bed, so I threw my pants on the floor and went to sleep.

The next evening I realized that I hadn't cashed the cheque yet. I made a mental note to put the cheque in my wallet so I could bring it to the bank in the morning. That night as my head hit the pillow I remembered that I still hadn't put the cheque in my wallet. So I got up and went to get it out of my suit pants, but the pants weren't on the floor anymore. My wife has a habit of picking up after me (I know I should pick up after myself:) so I went to look in the closet assuming she'd hung them up for me, but they weren't there...

After much searching, I found the pants in the basement... on a drying rack... wet... that's right, my wife had WASHED my dry-clean only suit pants. But wait, it get's better... the cheque was still in the pocket! It was a lump of wet, balled up paper.

So I fished out this lump of wet paper from the pocket of the pants and at 11:00 at night tried to unfold it and piece it back together. Amazingly, despite the fact that it was in about a dozen pieces, I was able to re-assemble the cheque. I taped it together but the teller at the bank, looking at this mess of what used to be a cheque, and politely told me she couldn't cash it.

I was left now with the unenviable task of calling my client, a dry cleaner, to ask him if he could cut me another cheque because why again?... because my wife had washed my dry-clean only suit pants and their cheque in the process! How stupid did I feel? Very!!

Thankfully, the client is a wonderful guy. He laughed at what was obviously a ridiculous situation and I couldn't help but laugh with him

Sometimes life hands us situations that can be maddening and frustrating. We can take those situations and struggle against them, try to fight them, get angry with them and cry "no fair"! Or, we can roll with the punches, go with the flow and laugh at them as best we can. While the first option may seem more appealing initially, it's the second option that will keep your blood pressure down and help you to smile and enjoy life more. Take your pick!