When Preparation Meets Opportunity…
Success comes with a price and to succeed, one must be ready to put in the work and effort required to achieve that success. “Before anything else, preparation is the key to success”- Alexander Graham Bell.
It’s easy to overestimate the significance of luck in someone’s success and underestimate the efforts they put forth each day in creating that luck. Because what often appears to be luck is merely the outcome of a series of steps and investments. Being ready to seize opportunities when they present themselves is up to you — it is not a paranormal occurrence. “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”- Seneca. So, anyone can take control of where they are headed in life, no matter their age, gender or situation.
The eagle doesn’t just fly around in the sky hoping ‘luckily’, it will somehow by chance find a prey lurking around, waiting to be eaten for dinner. Rather, it carefully picks out it’s prey from up to 200m high above sea level, lock onto its target, positions itself and wait for the perfect time to launch the killer strike.
Similarly, you create your own ‘luck’ by actively seeking to put yourself in the right place at the right time, in the right frame of mind waiting to seize ‘lucky’ opportunities. Like I would always say; “you don’t earn a first class in your final year, you earn it from the moment you get into school.” The Brazilian national football team is the most successful in the FIFA world cup competition having appeared 21 times in the competition and crowned champions 5 times and to achieve this remarkable feat, they would have had to begin preparation for the competition years ahead of time.
The reality is you can never be too prepared for whatever it is you want to achieve in life.
Every achievement you see on earth is a function of conscious preparation and so “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”- Benjamin Franklin.
The Italian saying, ‘que sera sera’ meaning ‘whatever will be, will be’ is a phrase that people who fail to prepare use to justify their inability to deliberately draw a success blueprint for themselves and see to its accomplishment. I am personally of the opinion and believe that nobody was born empty. We all have valuable skills and abilities that if harnessed I believe would serve as our entire life’s paycheck.
“The graveyard is the richest place on earth” Les Brown said, and “it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry out their dream.”
That won’t be you; if you consciously prepare to meet opportunity and create your own luck.
Here are three (3) ways to take on the task:
1. Master Your Craft
Whatever you’re doing, master it. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it extremely well.
We’re much more likely to develop a breakthrough product or disrupt the existing status quo when we understand it better than anyone else. People who invest the time to master their technique are much more prepared to recognize and leverage good opportunities as they arrive.
Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well, so master your craft and be excellent in it.
2. Walk the Talk
Invest in your potential. No one else (regardless of the love they have for you) has the capacity to believe in you more than yourself. They’ll be times when all you’ll need is just a little extra push or idea to make it to the next stage of your dreams and you might just need to keep at it regardless of how much time, energy and resources it has already taken from you. Success is more of a journey than a destination.
3. Work Smarter and Not Harder
I’ve heard someone say that if hard work was what was needed for success, manual labourers would be the richest persons on earth.
Even in the 21st century, the nature of the most profitable work has evolved from manual to mental. Making a way in this present world requires network, research and innovation. They’re better and easier ways to solve the issues we’re faced with daily, hence the need to be flexible and open to ideas. Explore new opportunities, try out new things, read books, evolve and experience just how exciting the world is.
Remember, You Have Only One Life to Live, MAKE IT COUNT!
