"No One Wears Shoes Here": Why Your Biggest Problem Might Be Your Biggest Opportunity

One of my favorite old stories is about selling shoes in Africa, long before many tribal people wore shoes.

Years ago, a successful shoe company decided to expand its market into a new country in Africa. Its “made for outdoors” shoes were selling well at home; why wouldn’t people purchase its product elsewhere?

The company sent one of its top shoe salesmen to the new market with all the resources he needed to start the new business.

Several months passed, and the representative was producing dismal results. He had sold very few pairs of this inexpensive yet high-quality brand. It was time for his three-month report, and after reviewing the results, management questioned the salesman about his poor performance.

The salesman simply replied, “No one wears shoes here.”

After six months with few sales, the representative was recalled.

However, there was a hungry new salesman who wanted a chance in the market. He argued that he would certainly build a following and drive sales in the new market. After some discussion, it was decided that he would get his wish and be sent to the same city as the first unsuccessful salesman. 

Within three months, reports of significant sales reached the home office. After six months, glowing reports reached the sales manager’s desk. He wondered, “Why is this guy selling so many shoes when one of our top salesmen couldn’t pull it off?” He contacted the representative, asking, “How and why are you selling so many of our shoes?” 

The reply returned quickly, “No one wears shoes here!”

Two salesmen, same product, same prospects, same location. Why did one sell shoes while the other could not?

The answer was simple: One man could see only a problem. The other man could see only opportunity. 

So, are you facing a problem or an opportunity?

Jesus’ friend, John, tells of an incident in which a huge crowd was following Jesus, but they’d had nothing to eat for a while, and the Teacher was concerned that it would be unsafe to send them away hungry. 

Jesus turned to Philip and asked where they could buy food for everyone. Philip had no idea where he could procure that much bread, and even if he did, all their funds combined wouldn’t buy that much food. 

Meanwhile, Peter’s brother, Andrew, noticed a young man with five loaves of bread and two fish. Andrew proclaimed that the amount of bread was useless for feeding this crowd. “It’s not even close to enough, Jesus!” 

When Jesus decided to give everyone a free meal, he put a big problem on Philip and Andrew's shoulders. Even though the two perplexed disciples had witnessed Jesus’ prior miracles, they couldn’t connect those earlier amazing feats to the one they were now facing. All they could see was a problem. Kind of a “no one wears shoes” issue. 

Jesus had other ideas. All He could see were opportunities. Here was a chance to show a large crowd not only His power but also how much He cared about their basic needs. Secondly, a miracle here could help two of His prime followers reframe their perspective. With Jesus on board, opportunities come cleverly disguised as problems. “No one wears shoes!”

 Like us, Jesus’ disciples often operated from a scarcity mentality. To carry Jesus’ message to the masses, they would need to think differently. 

Do you need to start thinking differently?

I’ve seen it happen numerous times in the church.

Here’s the scenario. The church needs money to start a new ministry, expand its facilities, fund a mission, or hire a new staff member, but funds are tight. “We can’t afford it” is the conclusion.

But then the pastor, or another church leader, takes a chance and stands before the congregation to explain the situation as the great opportunity it is. The leader shows how the expenditure would advance the church’s mission. He presents a compelling case and a plan to go with it. 

Before long, funds start to roll in as members get online and contribute to the cause. The project gets finished, the new ministry begins, the mission receives a check, the new staff member is hired. The need is met. How and why?

The money was there all along. All it needed was a vision and a plan. Until then, the resources stayed in members’ pockets. Another opportunity was cleverly disguised as a problem. When the problem was reframed and presented, the opportunity blossomed.

God wanted His church to move forward, but He wanted to use the generosity of His own people to accomplish it.

You will find that the same scenario can play out in your life. What you now consider a dilemma might actually be a blessing. God wants you to move forward. It may seem you have only a few loaves and a couple of fish, but in the hands of Jesus, that’s a banquet for 5,000 people. Don’t count yourself out before you even get started. 

Are you being held up because “no one wears shoes,” or are you thriving because “no one wears shoes”? The difference may simply lie in how you look at the situation. 

Here are some thoughts on how to reframe your thinking.

·      Instead of asking, “Why is this blocking me?” ask, “What could this make possible?” 

It is difficult to see something differently if you don’t even ask the question of possibility.

·      Take inventory of what you already have.

Sometimes, the gap between what is possible and what is impossible is not as wide as you think.

·      Stop defaulting to scarcity.

Our assumptions become habits. If we typically believe there is never enough, we won’t even consider a different conclusion.

·      Make the “impossible” situation evidence for what is possible.

Each salesman used the exact same sentence to support his conclusion. They were both right, but one used the information as a reason to succeed.

 Live Inspired!

Don Mark