After I had hit the jackpot at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino, I headed for Nagano, Japan, site of the 1998 Winter Olympic Games. I had watched some reruns of those particular Olympic Games while I was staying at Willie’s. Japan was one of the countries that I had planned to visit on my journey.

When I arrived in Nagano, I registered in a hotel and went directly to my room. I was mentally exhausted from my various gambling ordeals and from all of the action, in general, in the hectic, fast-paced environment of Las Vegas, Nevada. Nonetheless, I had a lot of fun in Glitter Gulch, and I learned a lot from my enlightening adventures on the famous Las Vegas Strip. My first night in Nagano wasn’t so eventful. Room Service delivered my dinner. After I ate, I took a fifteen-minute hot shower and got a good night’s sleep.

The next day, I sat at a cluttered desk in my spacious hotel room, trying to decide what I wanted to do next. A calendar hung on the wall behind the desk. The calendar showed a big black circle scribbled around the date of February 6th. I wore a watch on each arm, and I had a stopwatch in my left hand. My tired eyes were fixed on an alarm clock, which was located on the far right corner of the desk.

Several books were scattered across the desk. The titles included: Book of Knowledge, More Research, Webster’s New Dictionary, and Roget’s Pocket Thesaurus. In addition, two piles of loose papers were piled up on a balance scale; each stack weighted down opposite ends of the scale. The top page of one pile read “Pros” and the top page of the other stack read “Cons.”

“I’ve got a hard decision to make,” I said to myself, “and I’m afraid of making the wrong decision. Lord, when is the best time to make a decision?”

Immediately, God appeared. She grabbed a light-stained oak captains chair, which had been sitting on the other side of the room. She put the chair right next to me and sat down. The Lord asked, “How are you doing today, Wantsalittle?”

“Just fine—thank you! But I could use your help. God, when is the best time to make an important decision?”

“Napoleon wisely said, ‘Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in.’ Sometimes, you can outweigh the facts and waste valuable time in making decisions. Occasionally, you’ll end up making the wrong decision, regardless of how much time you take. If you’ve done your best, but still make a wrong decision, even a major one, forgive yourself. Try to learn from past mistakes, and get on with your life.”

“What other factors go into making a bigger decision?”

“Time is an important part of the decision-making process. When a more significant decision is called for, it should be well thought out and based on as much information as possible. Take enough time to gather all the pertinent facts, and consider the circumstances. Question your knowledge and opinions. Solicit input from others. You should delay making an important decision only up to that point in time when further delay would jeopardize the quality of that decision. If you adhere to this formula, you will not be described as a reactive decision-maker, but as an assertive individual who uses good personal judgment.”

“All right, Lord. I’m going to use all of these factors in making my decisions from now on. Is there anything else that You’d like to add?”

“Yes! Don’t be afraid of making important decisions. If you are self-confident and visualize yourself as a good decision-maker, you will make better decisions, overall.”

When God vanished, I tried to decide whether or not to participate in the 1998 Winter Olympic Games. After I carefully weighed the pros and cons, I elected to enter the ski-jumping competition, representing the “Land of Camelot.” I put on a green-with-gold-trim ski-jumper’s jersey, which had my favorite number, #13, printed in gold on the back of the predominately green outfit.

I slowly, but confidently climbed more than seventy steep steps to the top of the ski jump. Thousands of spectators noticed that I had a little smile on my face; those optimistic sports’ fans heartily cheered for me. Some onlookers, however, doubted my wisdom; those more realistic-minded souls knew that my inexperience in ski jumping and my full suit of armor would weigh heavily against my chances for success. One observer said, “This guy is crazy. He reminds me of Great Britain’s legendary, but nutty Olympic ski jumper Eddie ‘the Eagle’ Edwards.”

Just before I started to ski down the long ramp that led to free flight, I confidently stated, “I’ve made a decision. I’m going to try to set both the Olympic and World record for the longest ski jump!”

Then I accelerated straight down the lengthy, abruptly sloped ramp. Up to the point of no return—the time that it had taken me to reach the end of the takeoff ramp—I think that I accumulated a lofty number of “style” points for my expert, world-class form. Immediately after I flew off the perch of the ski jump, though, I went topsy-turvy!

Just a few feet straight out from the end of the ramp, I started to fall like a rock. I was in an upside-down position throughout most of my downward flight. Most among the alarmed crowd looked up and caught a glimpse of the narrow white and blue stripes, painted diagonally, clearly visible, across the top of my skis.

Airborne for what seemed like an eternity, I stared skyward; my wide-open blue eyes appeared as big as teacup saucers to many of the startled spectators, gathered in mass, below. I heard the wind whistling through the tiny ear holes in my metal helmet. The bitter taste of temporary defeat languished in the saliva on my tepid, trembling tongue. After several seconds, I finally blinked, and I saw one of my skis directly above me. The ski had come loose. It harmlessly spun through the chilly Nagano air, like a pinwheel, and softly touched down on the hard-packed snow, about a hundred feet straight beneath me.

When I tumbled to within a few yards from the ground, I was able to upright myself and somewhat prepare for my inevitable crash landing. As I rapidly speculated about my uncertain future, I took a deep breath and conceded the valiant effort. I said to myself, “Obviously, I made the wrong decision. I only hope that I live long enough to forgive myself!”

(The moral of this episode: Take the time to consider all of the pertinent facts with regard to your making an important decision. Then be prepared to live with the results of that decision. Above all, learn from your mistakes. And try to forgive yourself and go on with your life after you have made any more important bad decisions.)

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