Timing is Everything and Playing the Cards You Are Dealt
Timing is everything. But we also must play the cards we’ve been dealt.
A bit of a detour. Because timing is everything
I wrote my first blog post on July 31, 2024, introducing myself and Afterburner Success Partners. I offered that the Afterburner Success Partners course is a way to plan one’s life so one can achieve their dreams and live their best life. But not every young twenty-something wants to hear advice like this from a guy like me. As such, one of our mottos is “we take you where you are,” which means wherever you are in life, you can better yourself by setting your desired goals, defining a plan forward, and then executing on that plan. This formula works for everyone. I know this because I was one of those folks who needed to be “taken where I was” and develop the goals so I could live the life I wanted. It worked.
Every Tuesday, except for a few short breaks since then, for a year and a half, I’ve been presenting the course in small bites, so that if you follow the posts long enough, you will complete the course. All for free. That’s no cost. There are few investments you can make that will yield such a large return as taking this course in any of its forms. Any form is a bargain.
After about a year, I realized I had more to say to help you succeed than I could fit into one weekly post. So I started a Monday morning special post that covers topics of interest that can help you as you strive to achieve your dreams.
Then, I published my cookbook Everyday Cooking for Everyday People Like Us (Note 6) and started to share recipes with you. Again, no charge. Of course, I’d love for you to purchase my cookbook. I did not write it to make money, but to preserve family memories, and I do want to share them with you. The royalties on each book sale are so little that I will always be in the red financially. But I don’t care, I don’t do it for the money. Then I published my second book, Achieve Your Dreams: A Complete Guide to Live Your Best Life (Note 7). Again, little chance of even covering my costs, but I’m trying to help anyone I can during this fall season of my life.
Throughout the course and my special blog posts, I emphasize that to be successful, we must do the right things at the right time. If we could not, or did not, do the right things at the correct times, we must suck it up, compensate, and then adjust. We must overcome obstacles when they crop up. We can’t worry about the past or any perceived wrongs. We just do what we need to do. We play the cards we were dealt. We do not look for excuses or dwell on what we consider our misfortune. We must have grit. Then, throughout the course, my book and blogs, I provide examples of people who have overcome and been successful. Few, if any of the successful people, complained; they just did what they needed to do.
And it’s the issue of timing and playing the cards we are dealt that I want to talk about today.
Timing is everything
I’ve been so blessed throughout my career. For the most part, I’ve worked at great organizations and with and for, wonderful people. I’ve described a lot of this in past writings. When I was promoted from mechanic to management at American Airlines, one of my duties was to manage the capital budget for my Vice President. Any capital expenditure for Line Maintenance (Line Maintenance being defined as any aircraft maintenance being performed outside of the overhaul bases in Tulsa, Ft Worth, or Kansas City).
Part of this duty was to work with others to develop, and justify to the appropriate leaders, a capital spending plan not only for the coming year but often years in advance. After the plan was developed and approved, appropriation requests (A/Rs) were routed through me, then Finance, for the necessary approvals to access the funding. Depending upon the amount of the request, varying leaders have signature authority to approve it. Periodically, larger requests needed to go pretty high up the chain of command, and once past my VP, it was his job to sell it to his superiors. What I’m telling you is not a secret; anyone who deals with budgets knows what I’m talking about.
What my VP did teach me, however, is about the importance of proper timing. What this meant is that he never sought to advance a spending proposal unless the conditions were right. What does this mean? Well, it’s a bit of human relations and psychology. If his boss was in a bad mood, typically because of some operational issues, then that was not a good time to take a spending proposal for approval. This is one of the reasons for the term “everyone is a salesman.” Learning to sell ourselves, and our proposals, is an important life skill.
I’m guessing you know exactly what I’m saying. If you are a husband, did you ever buy your wife flowers and take her out for a nice dinner before asking her for those new golf clubs? If you are a wife, perhaps you made your husband his favorite dinner before you asked him about the new car you want. Even as a kid, I knew to judge each of my parents’ moods before asking one of them, the one in a better mood, if I could stay out and play until dark.
If you want something, timing is everything.
Playing the cards we are dealt
We like to get together with friends occasionally. That typically includes social time, dinner and playing cards. We are blessed to have such good friends, and we all enjoy each other’s company. One of the games we play often is a game called four up, four down. The game is also known as Swoop or Sweep. But the name I heard it called was (cover your ears) screw your neighbor. For obvious reasons. In cards, at least in this card game, you win by causing the other person or people to lose. Just like in sports, it’s typically the person or the team that makes the fewest mistakes that wins. Because I grew up in the Washington, DC area, I was a Washington Redskins football team fan. The 1980s were their heyday (period of great success) under coach George Allen. Coach Allen, a future Hall of Fame, used to say, “Give me three turnovers and a score, and I’ll beat you every time.” You see, the important thing was to play good, consistent football and avoid mistakes. Let the other team make mistakes and then capitalize on them. Coach Allen was big on defense, and his defense used to force the turnovers he spoke about. And there’s an important life lesson here. Let me tell you what it is: Worry about yourself, don’t worry about the other guy. Do the best you can, perform your duties in a high-quality and consistent manner, don’t make mistakes, and you likely will win in the game of life.
When you play cards, no matter the game, the key is that you must play whatever cards you receive in the deal. You can’t complain or ask for a do over, you play what you have. Skillful players can play poor hands well. One of our friends is an exceptionally good card player. She just finds a way to win. It’s amazing to see her make a good hand out of a poor deal.
It's the same way in life. No matter when or where we are born, no matter our upbringing, no matter anything, if we want to achieve our dreams and live our best life, then we must accurately assess our current situation and develop a plan and path forward. I often have written about my daughter’s softball team finding themselves in the losers’ bracket, then doing what they needed to do, and coming back and winning the tournament. Winners learn to overcome their circumstances and succeed anyway. In my book, I quote our pastor who said, “It’s the hard that makes it great.” Ask any winner and they will tell you the same thing.
You play the cards you are dealt. Successful card players play poor hands well and find a way to win anyway.
The timing for this post was perfect
It’s December 2, 2025, and I’m writing this post for publication on December 23, and I’ve just been served up the granddaddy of all softballs. Talk about timing!
This is blog 74 in our series of Achieve Your Dreams: A Complete Guide to Live Your Best Life course. We’ve moved from discussing the goal-setting process and setting financial goals, and are now literally one blog post into talking about your professional career, how to choose the right job, and then excel in it. Because, as you may know, the income you earn in your career will be the most significant determinant of your financial success. Selecting the right career and excelling in it is the focus of the current portion of the course and is essential if you are going to realize your dreams.
And then, yesterday, December 1, Nalin Haley, the son of Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and United Nations Ambassador, decided to publicly complain that neither he, nor any of his college friends, all of whom “graduated with great degrees in great schools, and not one of them has a job-not one.” He then proceeds to complain that congressional leadership is ignoring Gen Z struggles with unemployment and housing affordability (Note 1).
Oh. My. Gosh…Where to even begin? Let’s start with the basics:
1. This young man was raised in a two-parent household by two successful parents. This fact alone gives him a huge leg up on the rest of the world. Don’t believe me? Read the book The Two-Parent Privilege by Melissa Kearney. I’ve written about this extensively in the past. Click on the link in Note 2 to purchase a copy.
2. Apparently the 24 year old recently graduated from Villanova with a degree in Political Science (Note 3). OK, so what can you do with a degree in Political Science? Apparently there are a lot of things (Note 4) but from my experience this degree is often used to work in government or as a prerequisite to a law degree. Or as a politician. A common tactic in politics is to criticize others while claiming that, once elected, you can do a better job. Hmmm…I wonder what career advice he was given before undertaking this path of making a public screed? What’s his plan?
What to do? He is from a successful and well-connected family, and he has a four-year degree. So what’s there to complain about? Don’t complain, assess the situation, pivot, work your tail off, and go be successful!
The formula for success is simple, it’s just not easy. Rather than complain about things he cannot control, I might suggest playing the hand that has been dealt. If there are no jobs which would typically be available to someone with this college degree, perhaps additional training, probably in a trade, would be appropriate. Maybe an auto mechanic? Ford is looking for 5,000 of them, and the top pay is $120,000 (Note 5). Plumbers, electricians, aircraft mechanics, and carpenters can all earn over $100,000. How about serving others or your country as President John F. Kennedy advised in his inaugural speech on January 20, 1961? “And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, rather, ask what you can do for your country.” How about the military, my favorite choice for young people who need to get on their feet and serve their country? His father is in the military, what a great option.
As for complaining about housing costs and other living expenses, my suggestion is to accept what we can’t control and get the very best possible job we can and work extremely hard. That’s what the successful ones are doing. Complaining and making excuses will not help; it only makes you look like a whiner and decreases your chances of being hired. Who wants to hire someone who complains, especially in public to a national news organization? Guess what these people will do after they are hired?
Summary
Complaining serves no purpose, especially to a national news organization, and it does not help you. We all must do what we must do. We have to accept the reality staring us in the face.
The timing for us to be living at this point in history, 2025, is what it is. Play the hand that you were dealt. The successful ones are. And there are many successful ones. And you don’t need to reinvent the wheel; just look to those from the past who have done it.
Timing is everything. Play the hand you are dealt. This is a valuable lesson for all of us, don’t you think?
That’s all for this week!
We must play the cards we are dealt
Afterburner Success Partners
http://absuccesspartners.com/
What’s in it for me?
If you want to get ahead in life, you must take meaningful action that follows a proven path. Yes, some people make it in entirely new ways, outside the standard methods. I happen to believe these people are rare and what seems like something different is really just doing something different in a proven manner. Think about that for a minute and see if you agree.
If you are a recent college graduate or otherwise looking for a meaningful career and are finding it difficult, consider if you need to pivot and do something else. If you do, then just do it. And don’t complain. No one wants to hear it and it does not help you. We’ve all heard the saying, action speaks louder than words.
Call to Action
Just. Do. Something. Make a decision on what you want to do, define the path and get after it. Do it today.
Recommended Resources
See notes below.
Up Next
Professional success considerations.
Notes
Please note that as an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission on the sale of any of these recommended resources.
Nikki Haley’s son urges GOP to step in as Gen Z reaches breaking point on jobs, housing, Fox News: https://www.foxnews.com/media/nikki-haleys-son-urges-gop-step-gen-z-reaches-breaking-point-jobs-housing
The Two-Parent Privilege by Melissa Kearney: https://amzn.to/3YopTh5
Who is Nalin Haley, Taghive: https://tag-hive.com/blog/who-is-nalin-haley-nikki-haleys-son-and-political-science-graduate-advocating-to-end-h-1b-visas?srsltid=AfmBOorU9LH-ADaJSfQlWcw0-x15zLpNn7Qp8xCenhjqIwqmry88TIIY
Career Options, Oregon State University: https://osucascades.edu/academics/political-science/career-options
Ford CEO says he has 5,000 open mechanic jobs, Fortune: https://fortune.com/2025/11/12/ford-ceo-manufacturing-jobs-trade-schools-we-are-in-trouble-in-our-country/
Everyday Cooking for Everyday People Like Us, by David Giustozzi: https://amzn.to/437OhVQ
Achieve Your Dreams: A Complete Guide to Live Your Best Life, by David Giustozzi: https://amzn.to/3IxEFgy