Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all – Helen Keller
In the classification of Robin Sharma (Bestselling author of the Monk who Sold his Ferrari) – Opportunities are “cubic centimeters of chance”. They are tiny windows that provide themselves, so small they are often missed, but so important they are the windows of hope that light up our world with hope and endless possibilities.
Opportunities are life’s gifts, framed in lenght by time, and in breadth by chance. Sometimes you get the chance but miss the time, sometimes you get the time, and miss the chance. It’s opportunity when your time and chance are smack dab! Those who Pass Over Opportunities Repeatedly are termed POOR. Those who maximize their little windows are labelled favoured, fortunate or even blessed. We all have these windows open for us per time. Most often they are in the direction of our fears, most often they come dressed up in overalls called work, sometimes they are in that relationship you never cultivated, that business you never got involved with, that place you never went. Opportunities are regularly knocking on your door, sometimes so slowly you attribute it to something else, sometimes so silently the noise of your fears and worries clutters it.
Here are a few thoughts to help you identify and maximize the opportunities around you. Please don’t bother reading if you won’t take action, it will be a waste of your time!
1. Make your vision plain
There are two many opportunities available around, one could literally go insane attempting to be involved in all of them. Have a clear vision of your future conditions your eyes and mind to see the things that are relevant to your future. You can’t feature in a future you can’t picture. It’s when your eyes see the future, that those same eyes wake up to the opportunities that will make you feature. Your RAS (Reticular Activating System) alerts you to the clear visions that your inner eye has seen. Your RAS is like your radio tuning station, it allows you to plug only into channels that are playing the sights and sounds that will lead you to your future. If you don’t have clarity about what you want from the menu table of life, you will either eat from the ground or eat what someone else generously leaves behind. You are insensitive to opportunities to the degree of the severity of your purpose. Those who are going nowhere need no road signs.
2. Take Chances
Take chances, make bold moves, move in the direction of your fear! These are the thoughts that make life an adventure. Be guided by true north principles -ala don’t make bold moves towards your neighbours wife, or move towards your fear of strange relationships or bad habits. Be guided – man did not author the universe, and was never made to function without guidance. Within the boundaries of these guidance however, you must live a full life an and adventurous life. Do things for the sake of the thrill, those who have no loses seldom have stories. Are you in the presence of a star, meet them up, shake hands and exchange pleasantries, dare to be rejected! Be aware of your fears but act inspite of them. If you like the guy or gal, let it show. Don’t pass up an opportunity to drive a right hand drive in another country not your own – it may be illegal without an international driving licence, but the experience is golden. Get involved in business, fully aware that you will win some and lose some, go ahead all the same. Take chances, time is constant, chances are not. One opportunity well utilized can make up for scores of failed ones.
3. Enrich your life
There are many dimensions to wealth, physical wealth- health, inner wealth – peace, knowledge and spiritual connection, family and social wealth – happy family, great relationships, career wealth – fulfillment at workplace, being worldclass, economic wealth – Money, Adventure wealth – meeting new people, seeing new places, impact wealth – leaving the world better than you met it, being significant to others. If you understand wealth like this, you will grasp the full meaning of enriching your life. An enriched life is one that manifests a desire to be wealthy in all ramifications. It means you are working out, you are increasing knowledge by reading, you are staying connected to your spiritual source, you are spending quality time with the people that matter the most to you, you are developing yourself to be the best in your career, building businesses and enriching your life economically, meeting new people, seeing new places and leaving a legacy. If you are making concious efforts to enrich your life, you will engage with the opportunities that will take you to your desired future.
What would have happened if Bill Gates did not venture out in his 2nd year and plug into the window of opportunity in the operating systems opportunity? What if Will Smith continued with his science career? What would have happened if Richard Brandson didn’t take himself as seriously as he did, and saw himself as a never do well secondary school student? Look around you, what would have happened if the person that created, light, television, computers, pencils, biros e.t.c never took the opportunity. If they gave up or didn’t try, someone would have taken the opportunity or we’ll still be living in stone age.
Your ability needs opportunities to maximize your possibilities.
