that panicky, sinking feeling within the pit of your abdomen once you understand you are in serious trouble otherwise you made a mistake? You are so SOL that you do not know what to do.

It is Sam’s spouse Sydney right here, and I just lately discovered myself in a bind.

Proper after I booked flights to Japan, I spotted my passport was lacking. No passport, no journey, $3,600 in non-refundable airfare gone! I have never felt this a lot despair and stress in years, which I will get into under.

Within the midst of my grief and nervousness, nonetheless, Sam taught me an exceptional thoughts shift train utilized by Navy Seals often called Full Profit.

What Does The Navy Seals Saying “Full Profit” Imply?

Once I first heard the expression “full profit” I used to be a bit of perplexed. But it surely’s actually fairly easy. This saying comes from the thought course of that each problem we face is an opportunity to get higher, to develop as an individual.

Not solely that, the more durable a problem is, the extra worth it holds.

Once we face adversity, it makes us higher IF we settle for it. Arduous challenges and disappointments might make us really feel fully overwhelmed, however they offer us the “full profit.”

Assume again to probably the most troublesome or irritating instances in your life which might be seared into your thoughts without end. Now take into consideration how a lot you discovered from them. Not solely that, you might be stronger immediately since you have been capable of overcome these adversities.

Examples Of Issues And Full Advantages

• 20-page time period paper vanishing in an influence outage? Benefit from the full good thing about re-writing a greater paper and getting a greater grade.

• Getting rejected from all 10 faculties you utilized to? Benefit from the full good thing about saving cash by going to neighborhood faculty for 2 years after which transferring.

• Getting rejected from six preschools you utilized to? Benefit from the full profit by homeschooling your youngster for one yr, constructing a stronger relationship, and saving cash.

• New fridge you have waited 6 months for does not match via your door? Benefit from the full good thing about discovering a less expensive, longer-lasting mannequin and turning into a wiser house remodeler.

• Snapping your ankle the one time you overlook to put on your ankle brace? Benefit from the full good thing about forcing you to relaxation your shoulder for a month since you may not transfer.

Shifting focus away from the stress at hand and onto the complete profit as a substitute is an effective way to shift your mindset. And relating to constructing wealth, having a sturdy cash mindset is paramount!

My Latest Debacle Turned Full Profit

For these of you with getting older mother and father, you already know all too nicely how troublesome it may be to juggle your individual life and theirs. I am experiencing this now to a point with my mother.

Anyway, one in all my many latest duties for her has been arranging a visit to Japan. Her sister handed and there are lots of unsettled duties she has to take care of. My mom initially had plans to go alone, however that is not possible anymore resulting from some unexpected well being points.

Thus, I needed to reschedule her solo journey in Could to a time when each my sister and I can accompany her. My sister will take our mother there for the primary half of the journey, I will do the latter half, and we’ll overlap briefly within the center.

After numerous forwards and backwards, we lastly bought dates and flights sorted out. However proper after I booked my non-refundable flights, I went to go seize my passport and realized it was no the place to be discovered. What?!

The place The Hell Is My Passport?!

Hadn’t I simply I efficiently renewed it in 4Q2022? My reminiscence high quality is fairly frayed across the edges resulting from poor sleep resulting from our daughter. So once I could not discover my passport it the place it ought to have been, I began to panic. I used to be so caught off guard that my reminiscence went fully clean.

Did I even obtain it after submitting my renewing within the first place? If I bought it, did I preserve it within the envelope? Or did I take it out and conceal it? In that case, which place did I put it? And wth is not it there?!

Over the following a number of hours, I began to recollect a number of issues. I remembered getting it within the mail and displaying it to Sam. “Hey examine this out. That is what the most recent passports appear like.” However what I did after that also stays a blur.

After frantically looking out the home high to backside for 3 days, I lastly accepted it was gone for good. I concluded that I both put it again within the precedence mail envelope it got here in and by some means it was inadvertently discarded.

Or I did tuck it away, however one of many 6-7 restore employees who got here via our home through the winter poked round and took it once I wasn’t trying.

Regardless of the case could also be, it was gone and I could not get it again.

Now What?

I used to be so distraught and felt just like the village fool for being so careless. However, I could not afford to remain caught in pity metropolis. With costly non-refundable flights to Japan already booked for all three of us, I wanted to behave quick.

First, I checked out a calendar to see what number of weeks I had in play. Twelve on the absolute most. Hmm, not too dangerous I believed, however nonetheless dicey. Passport processing time for routine service is round 10-13 weeks proper now. And expedited service just isn’t considerably quicker at 7-9 weeks. However a pair weeks may make a giant distinction for me!

Then I discovered that as a result of my passport was misplaced/stolen, I must re-apply in particular person identical to somebody making use of for the very first time. I began looking out all of the SF put up workplace places for an appointment. However each location was absolutely booked for the following 4+ weeks! My pulse jumped.

Oh man, I believed. I actually could possibly be screwed. Luckily, my sister gave me a tip that some put up workplaces take walk-in appointments. There wasn’t any data posted on-line about present walk-in places, so I began dialing each put up workplace within the metropolis.

Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring…oh no, does anybody on the put up workplace ever decide up the cellphone?!

Passport Demand Is Up, Postal Employment Is Down

Seems only a few put up workplaces in San Francisco will reply the cellphone it doesn’t matter what time of day you name. My guess is they’re both too busy to select up the cellphone, or are too unmotivated and disengaged. Fortunately, nonetheless, I lastly did get ahold of 1 particular person on the Noe Valley department.

Though that location doesn’t take walk-ins, she knowledgeable me that the principle department at 1300 Evans Ave does. The problem she mentioned is the workplace opens at 7:30 am, however folks begin lining up at 5 am. There are a restricted variety of walk-in slots, so displaying up early does not even assure you may get seen.

Then she mentioned the wait time could possibly be an extra 5-6 hours after the workplace opens. Lastly, she guided me that Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays are the busiest. Oh boy.

I felt fairly defeated already, however nonetheless held onto a ray of hope that I could possibly be one of many fortunate ones. Operation early fowl, ie my Plan A, was hatched.

Plan B, C, and D

Nonetheless feeling unsettled since there was no assure I may get a walk-in appointment, I got here up with a Plan B, C, and D.

I researched passport expeditor service suppliers, however that would price $700. Sheesh! Not solely that, the opinions have been horrific and it did not look like utilizing one would assist me that a lot anyway as a result of I might nonetheless want to look in particular person. I scrapped that concept.

Subsequent, I pinged our son’s faculty grade mum or dad’s community to see if anybody had any ideas from prior expertise. It was value a shot since many fellow mother and father have family members abroad and journey internationally for household and work.

To my delight, I bought some immediate ideas together with quick service in Mill Valley and Sausalito (a couple of 30 minute drive north) and utilizing same-day service on the Civic Heart passport workplace with proof of pressing journey.

I instantly regarded for appointments in Mill Valley and Sausalito. I bought one! But it surely was three weeks out, which means I might be tremendous down the the wire on my departure. A minimum of my plan B was in place even when it wasn’t nice.

Then I formulated a plan C, which might entail calling the Nationwide Passport Info Heart to try to get an appointment for pressing journey inside 14 days of my departure.

And lastly, my plan D can be to name and attempt to get an excellent pressing appointment if I executed Plan A however was nonetheless caught ready for my new passport inside 5 days of departure.

Plan A: Full Profit

So what ended up taking place? The considered me waking up at 4:30 am to go get in line at 5 am within the chilly was gloomy. I already get little or no sleep as it’s. However the evening earlier than I deliberate to go, I remembered there are folks accessible for rent on TaskRabbit to attend in line. Genius!

I rapidly submitted a activity request and related with a extremely rated Elite tasker. Though he hadn’t waited for a passport appointment earlier than, he was fast to reply and appeared dependable.

Now I simply wanted to complete all of my paperwork and arrive by 7:15 the following day to take his spot in line earlier than the passport workplace opened at 7:30.

The subsequent morning, I related with my Tasker. He bought there early and was the primary one in line. Wanting good! A household of 4 arrived behind him a short time later as I used to be getting my issues prepared to go away.

Surprising Variables

Then out of the blue, my Tasker texted me at 6:50 am saying the workplace opened early and to get there ASAP. What?!

Despite the fact that the workplace did not formally open till 7:30 am, there was an agent onsite who was able to see walk-ins early as a result of excessive demand. I had not accounted for this.

My Tasker needed to let the household go first since I wasn’t on-site but. However since there have been a unit of 4, hopefully I might arrive simply as they have been ending.

After I used to be rushed out the door, I ended to examine my bag one final time. Okay, I had each of my varieties, a examine to the DOS, my drivers license, picture copies of my IDs, however WAIT!! The place was my expired passport?! I wanted it to show citizenship. ACK!

I rapidly remembered I left it on our printer the evening earlier than once I was making photocopies. I dashed to seize it after which rushed throughout city. OMG I felt like such a multitude.

Fortunately, the household of 4 completed one minute earlier than I ran within the door and I used to be capable of be seen proper once I arrived. PHEW!

One other sudden variable was the agent did not like the truth that my printed varieties have been “too small.” Despite the fact that I printed them to the max scale my printer may deal with with out chopping off the perimeters, she did not need to course of them that manner.

Speeding Leads To Careless Errors

So, I needed to re-write all of the fields of my DS-11 software on one of many clean DS-11 varieties that they had onsite. Fortunately, she did not ship me to the again of the road. She was capable of get different issues prepared whereas I rewrote all the things.

There have been additionally a number of bins I forgot to checkmark once I redid the shape, which she luckily caught and corrected.

I additionally wasn’t capable of verify with my father what his birthplace was earlier than I submitted the shape. This was a silly mistake I may have prevented if I regarded via the shape extra totally a number of days earlier than. Once I noticed the parental data fields initially, I believed that was only for minor candidates. I used to be flawed!

I took my greatest guess, however once I talked to my dad later within the day he instructed me I used to be flawed. Ugh. A minimum of I enter the neighboring metropolis, so I used to be fairly shut. Hopefully my software will not get stalled due to that.

Takeaways: From Despair To Full Profit

Lesson discovered? At all times lock up your valuables immediately. And inform your partner, siblings, or trusted pal the place you locked them up in case you overlook! I used to be proud sufficient to indicate Sam my new passport when it got here, however dumb sufficient to not put it in an excellent safe place instantly afterward.

A minimum of I bought the complete good thing about this snafu! Now I simply have to sit down again, wait, and hope for one of the best on the tail finish. After I verify my precedence mail categorical envelope made it to the processing middle, I can use the passport software standing checker in about three weeks.

If it hasn’t arrived in eight weeks, I will want to leap on the cellphone to see what is going on on. No matter else occurs, hopefully in twelve weeks I will be on my flight to Japan with my passport. And sure, I’ll double examine my new passport is in my bag earlier than I get within the automobile!

Full Profit Comes With Optimistic Outcomes

Along with studying so much out of this expertise, there have been another positives as nicely. Due to my three-day hunt for my passport, I concurrently benefited from:

• Decluttering the home
• Organizing closets, cupboards, and drawers
• Filling up two luggage of toys and garments to donate or promote
• Discovering a number of random issues I might misplaced earlier
• Studying extra about passport functions and processing
• Getting to put in writing this put up to share about my loopy expertise

Plus, I did not find yourself having to attend 5-6 hours on the put up workplace. I truly had zero wait time due to my Tasker. And I additionally used this time to assist my mom renew her passport as nicely. That was fairly a painful course of in and of itself for a lot of causes, however now it is carried out too.

How A lot Did I Finish Up Spending Due To A Misplaced Passport?

Here is how a lot this wild misadventure price:

• Report passport stolen $0
• New passport picture $18.46
• New passport e book $130
• In-person execution charge $35
• Precedence Mail Categorical from SF to DoS $28.75
• Expedited processing by the DoS $60
• 1-2 Day supply from DoS to SF $19.53
• Tasker charges for two.5 hours, and tip $134
• Rideshare transportation, charges, and tip $48.88

Whole = $474.62

Ouch, my carelessness in dropping my passport (or not locking it up when folks got here into the home) price me nearly 5 hundred {dollars} and hours of stress and nervousness. Sure, I definitely may have saved cash by ready in line myself from 5 am, borrowing a automobile, and never paying for the assorted expedited charges.

However, paying additional allowed me to get some a lot wanted additional sleep, did not affect Sam’s morning work schedule, did not hinder our youngsters getting to high school on time (we solely have one automobile), and gave me extra peace of thoughts that I ought to have my new passport a number of weeks earlier than my journey.

Full Profit Pays Off

I am pleased to report that two months after I wrote this put up, my new passport arrived within the mail. Phew! So the estimated expedited processing time of 7-9 weeks did maintain true.

The very first thing I did was inform Sam precisely the place I put it! After all I nonetheless have to recollect to convey it with me to the airport on my day of departure and never lose it throughout my journey. However, I do plan to be additional cautious.

Enjoyable Details About Passports

And to shut, listed here are some fascinating tid bits about passports that you could be not have recognized.

• The demand for US passports exploded in 2022 with a document 22 million processed up from 15.5 million in 2021. Demand in 2023 is on tempo to interrupt final yr’s document.
• Greater than 40 million journey paperwork and passports have been misplaced or stolen since 2002.
• Purple is the most typical passport cowl shade worldwide. Within the US they’re blue.
• Australia is the costliest nation to get a passport, about 3x the fee within the US.

Reader Questions And Suggestions

Readers, have you ever ever misplaced your passport or had it stolen? Did you expertise the complete profit in your journey to exchange it? What are some challenges you have overcome in your life once you skilled the complete good thing about going through and overcoming adversity?

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