OPPORTUNITY: YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Hello friend, I visited a friend nearby who owned a company. I had not seen this friend or his company in about 4 months. I noticed that his company had grown
in a short while. As we spoke I also noticed his knowledge had increased and
his level of thinking had improved. I wondered what he had done to achieve
this; and the answer came from what he said: “I loved moving from my house to my office and vice versa via bikes
because it was faster for me, but when the restriction of bike was effected by
the government, I was forced to enter a bus, however the bus is a lot slower
because of the heavy traffic so I utilize the opportunity to read at
least 2 pages to a chapter of a book every time to my place of work and another
minimum of 2 pages from my place of work to my house while in the bus. However
I couldn’t do this when plying the road on a bike. After getting home on the
bike I would be too tired to read or something would distract me and on getting
to the office, I would be too busy to read”. It now dawned on me that this friend of mine
saw an opportunity to improve himself in a “set back” instead of complaining
and feeling annoyed like most people would. He turned it to his favour. By
definition, an opportunity is a favourable time, occasion or period to do
something or achieve a goal. It can also be defined as a chance for promotion
or favourable or advantageous circumstance.
If opportunity is good, why do we miss our opportunities?
Simple, because we do not know or recognize our opportunities when we see them.
“Opportunity usually
is not noticed because it comes dressed in overalls and it comes as work”- Thomas Edison.
Facts About
opportunities:
1) Opportunities are
everywhere and always facing us every day: I mean let’s check this out, you
wake up every day and you see problems; these are opportunities. And solving
these problems helps you to be promoted or to make money. I remember a young
man in my country that was trying to study abroad but could not raise the
funds. He was at home one day and he saw a foreigner trying to teach his son
how to ride a bicycle, but he couldn't (a problem). So this young man volunteered
to help the foreigner teach his son and within minutes the boy was riding his
bicycle (a solution). The foreigner was so happy with the young man; he decided
to help the young man school abroad in the foreigner’s country with all
expenses paid by the foreigner. Why? Because the young man saw an opportunity
not a problem.
2) Opportunities
sometimes come in seasons: Look at life for instance. You wake up in the morning
and you go to bed in the night. You have morning season and night season.
Seasons come and go but some of them return but some never and some take a very
long time, decades or even centuries. A good example is your childhood. You
will always be a child once; and after that you will never be a child again.
You are an adult and there is nothing you can do about it. If you did not enjoy
your childhood years by playing with toys and running around then it is too
late to do that. There is a particular comet called Halley’s Comet that you see
once in a life time.
3) Opportunities are
sometimes not obvious and come from the least likely areas and sources. No
wonder the great inventor Thomas Edison once said:” Opportunities usually not
noticed by people because they come in overalls dressed as work.
4) Avoid places and
people that will not offer you opportunities: A wise man once said that I
do not go where I am tolerated; I only go where I am celebrated or needed.
5) Opportunities can
be created: In the fifteenth century (1666/1667), Isaac Newton was
at home, because his school Cambridge University had been closed down for one
solid year due to an outbreak of a plague, while at home, instead of wasting
his time, he created an opportunity by working on the experiments that later
made him the world renowned scientist that he is now. Newton created an
opportunity where there seemed to be none.
Final word: Opportunities are everywhere, use it now and
don’t procrastinate. You’ll be effective.
May be continued later………
Final Word: When opportunity encounters preparation, success is inevitable.
D.A. Ayo.
D.A. Ayo is a Medical doctor by training and management
consultant, professional speaker, trainer and a coach specifically in the area
of soft skills, personal effectiveness and personal transformation in different
aspects of life and leadership.
Contact:
Facebook: D.a. Ayo
Twitter: D.A.AYO@DAAYO2
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