On Opportunity
Have you heard? Opportunityisnowhere.
That’s right. Opportunity is now here.
If you didn’t read “opportunityisnowhere” that way, you either haven’t seen that before, OR you may be overlooking opportunities that aren’t completely obvious at first glance.
Easy to overlook
Opportunity can be easy to overlook, precisely because there IS so much of it out there. And because, as the saying goes, it’s often disguised as hard work. (Or even as something that makes us stress out a little at first.)
For example, suppose you’re asked to give a presentation to a group of higher-ups at work. It will involve a lot of prep time, some practicing, and what’s essentially public speaking. Are you going to grumble and complain about having to do it, and maybe even try to find someone else to take your place? Or are you going to take advantage of the opportunity to make a good impression and get yourself better-know among those folks?
Extra work can pay off
Taking on the extra work (and keeping the complaints to yourself) will get you a whole lot further. In fact, do a great job with your presentation and will probably lead to even more opportunities down the road. Like maybe a raise or a promotion, or the chance to do work that’s exciting or interesting.
The same thing is true outside the workplace too. Suppose you want to make more money, maybe by starting a small business. Are you going to look at the work that’s required as something to be avoided, or are you going to look at it as an opportunity to meet your goal? If you really want to succeed, you’ll do the work. You’ll go about it intentionally and consistently, instead of running out of time because you’re always “busy” with daily life and catching up on stuff.
When you do succeed
And when you do succeed, you’ll know that you did so in large part because you took the time to reach out, grab that opportunity, and make it happen. You’ll also become open to even more opportunities in the future, since you’ll have experience seeing them for what they are. So remember, opportunity is now here.
Interesting perspective here with how you interpret the letters. A great reminder to be optimistic and remember that there really are lots of untapped opportunities right in front of us!
Thomas
There sure are :)
My daughter was given an opportunity to make weekly presentations at her company’s meetings. She grabbed it and I think she was promoted twice because of the opportunity.
As a teacher, I volunteer for committees and chair some to make myself more valuable. The payoff is over time!
I’m not surprised that both paid off :)
I hadn’t seen that before — but you’re right, opportunity is everywhere, waiting for us to step up to the plate!
Yup, it’s a matter of recognizing it and then taking action.
I think getting out of your comfort zone and saying yes to opportunity is always a good thing too.
Yeah, sometimes it turns into some wonderful, life-changing stuff!
Aeeeeeeeeee, yeah, I did read it that opportunity is no where, not “now here.” I wonder if that makes me a glass half-empty kind of person…
Nah I’m a huge optimist and I read it that way at first too…