IF ONLY....

While in Switzerland, I learned a few things that reminded me of a valuable lesson in life...

-Switzerland is a small country but they are one of the richest and most economically stable counrties in the world for the past 100 years.

-A third of their land is made up of mountain ranges which is filled with snow about two thirds of the year, and greatly reduces their farming land by a lot. Yet they took great care of these mountains and their landscape. Eventually, these same mountains are now bringing them money by drawing in tourists and keeping their cows happy and healthy, producing high quality milk for excellent cheese and dairy. They also tapped into the melting snow from the mountains and kept their lakes and rivers clean. Everywhere in the Switzerland, you will find potable water in water fountains. Many people live near the lake and rivers but they have designed their sewage system to not polute the bodies of water next to them. Today, their lakes and rivers are some of the cleanest in the world.

-No cacao or coffee grows on their land but they are one of the worlds top produces of excellent quality chocolate and coffee. They strengthened their trade to import cacao and coffee, created some of the world's most exquisite Chocolates mixed with their high quality milk; and produced the first powdered coffee by Nescafe, now one the world's leading food distributor.

-They have no gold, silver or other precious metals, yet they produce the most reliable watches, jewelries and Swiss knives in the world. They imported these precious metals and employed the best engineers and architects and created excellent and reliable products which they, in turn, marketed to the world.

We all have been there. We have all said "If only I had these resources...." "If only I have finished school.." "If only I passed that board exam..." "If only I had a better vehicle..." "If only I had a bigger house..."

If only, if only, if only.... We are always filled with "If-onlies" and fantasize about what would have happened "If only" we had this or that. We stay dreaming and waiting for the right opportunity or the perfect job or the perfect situation before we act on bettering ourselves. So we never progress. But the Swiss people said, "This is what we have... how can we make the most of these?" and the rest is history.

What are your "IF-ONLIES" today? How can you turn those "If-onlies" into "How can I make the most of these?"