On Saturday morning, I watched a woman sweeping the front of her shop. She swept carefully.Then she stepped back, looked at the entrance, and swept it again. There wasn't much left on the floor. Still, she wasn't satisfied. A passerby smiled and said, "But it's already clean. Without looking up, she replied, I know... I'm preparing for the first customer." That stayed with me. The customer hadn't arrived yet. There was no audience. No applause. No guarantee that anyone would even notice. Yet she prepared as though someone important was already on the way. It made me wonder how often we wait for opportunities before we start preparing. We wait for the promotion before improving our skills. We wait for the client before refining our service. We wait for recognition before giving our best. Perhaps preparation isn't something we do because an opportunity has arrived. Perhaps preparation is what invites the opportunity in the first place. The woman probably thought she was sweeping a shop. I walked away thinking she was sweeping away excuses. Some doors don't open because we knock harder. They open because we were ready when they did.