Is Your Door Locked?

We all have our “thing” and for reasons I can’t explain, one of my “things” is that I collect Houdini memorabilia. I have always been fascinated with Houdini’s stunts and feats. I am his biggest fan.

Houdini had a routine. Before going to a new town or city, he would write the local newspaper and publicly challenge the local police department to lock Houdini in their finest jail, and give him the opportunity to escape, which he always did – almost.

On one occasion, Houdini was locked in a jail cell by a particularly sinister man. For minutes and then for hours Houdini attempted to pick the lock, but he could never get the mechanism to click open.

He started to sweat. His reputation was on the line. There were lots of newspaper reporters outside of the jail, just waiting to tell everyone about his success … or failure.

Houdini had picked this type of lock hundreds to times before, he worked and worked, and nothing happened. Finally, in desperation, he just leaned against the wall and sighed. He started to think about the humiliation of giving up, and the destruction to his career that would follow.

Then Houdini got an idea. Could it be? What if the sinister jailer had purposely left the jail unlocked? You can’t pick open a lock that is already open! Could the jailer really be that brazen to try such a stunt?

Houdini strolled over to the jail door lock that he had tried to pick unsuccessfully for hours – and just turned the knob – and it popped open!

What locks do we perceive in our businesses or lives? Are they real, or can they just be opened for the asking?

There is only one way to find out!