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Picture this: You get to the mall and the parking lot is jam-packed with holiday shoppers. Where do you park your car?

If you’re like most people, you take the first open spot available, even if you have to walk a long, long way to get into the mall.

But I rarely do that. More times than not, I park right up by the entrance without any trouble at all. I have my step-grandpa to thank for that.

The best parking spots

Merle was famous for pretty much always getting the best parking spots, even in terrible weather. One day I asked him how he did it. Now he loved to kid people, so he told me that he just believed that it would be there, and then it would be if he believed hard enough.

Being a fairly gullible teenager, I took him at his word when I started driving.

I started picturing that empty parking spot waiting for me, too, and lo and behold there it would be, almost every time.

Being myself, I started telling people who asked how I did it that it was magic.

And it is magic.

It’s the magic of believing in something enough to go do something about it.

Will you wait without much hope, or will you take action?

The other day I was at the mall, and had parked up near the front as usual. When I finished shopping, I walked back to my car, which was maybe 8 spots from the entrance on that crowded pre-Christmas weekend.

The parking lot stretched on and on in front of me, probably literally at least a half mile further, with space after space filled. Waaaay down toward the end of the row I’d parked in sat a car with its blinker on, waiting for another car to pull out. Behind that car were two more cars, also patiently waiting.

But you know what? 3 spots from the entrance was an empty parking spot.

I waved at the guy who had his blinker on, and pointed at the empty spot.

Nothing. So I got in my car and headed out of the parking lot, passing yet another empty spot between where I’d parked and the guy who was waiting. He finally pulled into the spot he’d been waiting for, and the car behind him pulled into the next empty spot. The third car pulled into my old spot.

Not one of them took the spot that was literally as close as they could have gotten to the door without having handicapped plates.

Any one of them could have had it, if only they had gone and looked.

Nothing was stopping them at all, except maybe a fear that they might be passing up a sure thing. (In this case, the first empty parking spot they saw.)

The real secret to getting what you want

If you want something, you’ve got believe that it’s possible for you to get it, and then you’ve got to act on that belief.

So believe in yourself. Give yourself a chance. Do your darnedest to get what you want.

You can get an interesting job, buy your dream house, or heck even get a pony if that’s what you want.

It might even be right there waiting for you.

But you have to give yourself a shot, and then do the work that follows. What’s the worst that can happen? You have drive up an extra row in the parking lot if it turns out to be full the first time? Who knows, there might be an even better spot waiting for you in the next row.

So act. Open yourself up to the magic of belief — powered by action.

12 comments

  • Well, you might as well do a first-row driveby. If you’re going to park in the back anyway, what’s a few more minutes?

    I must say, mall shopping annoys me anyway this time of year. Even if you do get a good spot you have to contend with the crowd already in the building. Enough about parking; I get the message, haha. Good post!

  • Are you saying that we miss opportunities that are right in front of us? I certainly think this is true.

  • I know this has nothing to do with the point of the article but it reminded me of a story. At my old job the parking lot was NOT big enough for everyone and finding a parking spot was a total pain by the time I got there for second shift. After a bit I realized that this one lady, who must have gotten there very early since she always had a front spot, always left just a few minutes after I would arrive to start making the rounds looking for a spot.

    So I started planning my arrival time to be there just as she was pulling out of her front spot. It was perfect. What’s funny is that we had the same make, model, and color of car.

  • I just go home and shop Amazon, Walmart and ebay :)

    But seriously, the problem with so many is that they don’t like to stretch themselves or reach beyond what they already see and know. This is why fast food is so big in the USA; people would rather hit the drive-thru (which they know they will pass along the ride) instead of going through the trouble of searching for something at the market that they may not find nor like.

    • That and I think a lot of people just assume that they’re not going to get the things they want, so they don’t even bother trying.

  • Many times you assume that you are not that lucky to have good things happen to you. Thats the insecurity that people need to overcome. Good things can happen to everyone who beleives :)

  • I always park far, far away from a mall entrance (or any store entrance for that matter). But to me it’s not about getting a space close to the door, it’s about no one parking near my car that lacks any door dings. My 2005 Element still looks brand new because I park miles from anyone else. And, I get the added benefit of exercise. :) The choices we make determine our fate. (or our car’s fate in this case).