A door you were sure would open… didn’t.
For a minute, the “no” felt like “never.”
Then you realized: some doors are signals, not stops.
That’s a lesson I learned from Dr. Lisa Miller, a Columbia University psychologist who studies the connection between spirituality and mental health.
During one of her guided meditations, she asked us to imagine arriving at a red door—something we longed for.
A job, a relationship, a breakthrough we were certain was next.
Only to find the door wouldn’t open.
She then asked us to turn around, in our mind’s eye, and find a trail angel—someone directing us toward a different door.
A yellow one.
It wasn’t the red door we had hoped for, but it did open.
It may not have been what we had in mind, but it represented a new opportunity—one that, if we stayed open, would lead us down a new path.
Door Knocking 🚪
I’m a roofer by trade, and while I spend a lot of time meeting new people through networking and referrals, one proactive way roofers find new business is by simply getting out in the community and meeting people right at their doorstep.
Years ago, a friend once asked if I’d ever consider roofing.
I told him door-knocking didn’t appeal to me.
Fast-forward to today: I’ve helped many homeowners solve roofing problems simply by introducing myself and asking if I could be of service.
You never know who you’ll meet on the other side of that door—or how the conversation will go (if it even happens).
But the experience has taught me a lot about being open to whatever opportunity may be waiting on the other side.
In thinking about the many red and yellow doors I’ve come to over the course of my life, I couldn’t help but think of how Matthew McConaughey frames opportunities in his book Greenlights:
“A greenlight is an affirmation, support, praise, gift, approval, applause. It’s what we want. We don’t like red and yellow lights because they stop our flow. But when we realize they’ll turn green in time—that’s when life gets easier, more fun, and more meaningful.” — Matthew McConaughey
Power Acronym 182: W.O.R.K.
I first wrote this Power Acronym as When Opportunity Repeatedly Knocks.
But the more I thought about it—and lived it—the more I realized it’s not just about hearing the knock.
It’s about being the one knocking.
Opportunity rarely knocks once. It returns—often disguised.
It’s important to recognize the opportunities you’re brought to, but don’t stop there.
We can’t merely react to the signals we receive; our job is to hear them and answer with action.
Here are two more bits of wisdom that speak to this W.O.R.K.:
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” — Thomas Edison
“When opportunity knocks, all some people can do is complain about the noise.” — Bill Maher