Page 5
02/12/2025
The first time it really hit me that I needed to be prepared for the 'important stuff' was a random school assembly when I think I was maybe 14, 15.
Assemblies in general .. All I can remember is having to try and sit cross-legged on the floor, soooo many hymns 😣 and supposed life lessons that would vanish the moment we were allowed to leave.
.. Except this one time.
A teacher, whose face I can't really even picture now, walked out onto the stage - noticeably flustered.
"Sorry, I umm, I thought this was next week. I don't have anything prepared."
He paused - visibly uncomfortable .. 😬
"I'll be right back."
Jumping off the stage, he swiftly disappeared under the exit sign. 20 seconds later he was back, a spring in his step - notes in hand.
His talk was about preparation. Obviously staged - the whole thing a performance.
Every other assembly I had to sit through is a blur of nothing in my mind, but I can still see this teacher, in a blind, awkward panic, leaping from the stage.
The rest of his talk? I've no idea, that's definitely gone .. But the point stayed with me.
Being prepared isn't optional - especially with freelancing. Clients don't care if you thought the review was tomorrow .. And, they don't want to hear that your laptop's just died with no backup in sight .. What you do before anyone is watching will always be the difference between a messy, awkward scramble, and a smooth, on-time delivery.
Information alone rarely sticks for me - this teacher could've just told us to 'be prepared,' but I wouldn't have listened. Instead, 25 years later, I remember the moment he created .. Watching him fail, and how he had us all sat there in the embarrassment with him.
