My three oldest daughters (Regina, Veronica, and Amy) are on a ten-day trip to Japan as a gift from me.

Well, evidently there was an earthquake, 7.6 on the Richter scale, in northeast Japan the other day.

I texted to make sure they were all right. I figured in Tokyo they might feel an aftershock but that would be about it. I was right, but their night made a little more sense to them after I explained there had been an earthquake.

At the time two of them had been figuring out the washer/dryer, and suddenly the hangers above them began to sway and they felt the ground moving.

Amy told me, "Neither one of us has ever experienced an earthquake before, so we were both very concerned that the washer/dryer was making the laundry room move."

An earthquake makes more sense of what happened.

The girls are safe and sound, though, and since it's already tomorrow morning there, they're getting ready to start another day of exploration.

Now I was given a challenge: can you promote whatever your thing of the day is by using an analogy from the earthquake in Japan?

I can, but it's going to be lame.

Brace yourselves.

Here's my best shot.

We all have those moments in which our experiences, skills, and random bits of knowledge feel like they're just rattling around without purpose -- like a washer/dryer gone haywire.

But what if there's a bigger "earthquake" of opportunity hiding in plain sight? 

(I warned you this would be lame, but you may not have believed just how lame it would be.)

So as we prepare for the new year, let's identify the right business idea for you, one tailored to what you already know and love.

If you're sitting on a wealth of untapped potential (and most of us are), I've got a free quiz that analyzes your background, expertise, and interests to spotlight business ideas that fit you like a glove.

You'll have fun taking it, and you'll get results that are immensely practical:

https://www.tomwoods.com/whatkind

Tom Woods