Making every moment the moment
I like the story of two salesmen who went to a village to sell shoes. In the story, the first salesman got to the village and found out that nobody wore shoes. He said to himself, “these people don’t wear shoes, there are no sales prospects for me here.” He calls the company and says “Sorry, No Opportunities here!”. The second salesman got to the village and saw the same people walking around barefooted. Unlike the first salesman, he was excited and immediately called the company for more supplies saying “Send more shoes, great opportunity here!”.
It is clear these two salesmen encountered the same scenario but responded to it differently. One saw hopelessness, the other saw an opportunity! You see, the ability to discover opportunities is a critical factor for a successful life and it depends on our mindset.
Reflecting on my life, I have realized that opportunities are everywhere. They are easily discovered in the areas of our passion. If you are passionate about something, it influences your perspective and helps you see opportunities where others don’t. Take a look at one of the richest men in the world, Microsoft’s co-founder – Bill Gates. He was so passionate about computer technology, he opted out of school to pursue the opportunities in that industry. The rest, as they say, is history.
I remember when I left paid employment to start my company after working for 7 years in one of Africa’s foremost IT companies. At the time, I had 3 business ideas; one was financial consultancy, another idea was IT services, hinging on my 7 years’ experience and then, there was Sports Marketing. Guess what, I opted for the third option – Sports Marketing! I had and still have a strong passion for sports and that made me see the huge opportunities to succeed there. Today, after 16 years, the business is still doing very well even though I left about 5 years ago.
We must always remember that success in life is about seizing opportunities. But we can only seize the opportunities we discover. So how can you position yourself effectively to discover opportunities?
Let me share with you three helpful tips;
- Stay connected to your environment:
To easily spot opportunities, you need to be aware of what is going on around you. I have met people, who have no clue about new trends in their environment, or the industry they operate. They don’t know about government policies that can affect their careers and businesses. This limits your ability to spot opportunities. I believe the first step to discovery is awareness. You need to stay connected, listen to the news, attend conferences, meet new people, read! These things help your mind prepare for new discoveries.
- Have a positive mind-set
This is very important. Winston Churchill once said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” The key is our mindset. Remember the salesmen in the story, they both saw the same scenarios but responded differently. The second salesman, oh I like him! He had a positive outlook to situations, he saw the bright side. He saw breakthrough! This kind of mindset helps you spot opportunities even in unexpected places.
- Have “Me” times
Solitude is a breeding place for ideas. Having a personal time of reflection helps to recognise some quick wins you might have missed going about your daily activities. You see, great achievements are sometimes wrapped in seemingly little opportunities, you may not see them unless you give some extra thoughts to some realities around. So before you sleep at night, think of your day. An occurrence can spark up a possibility, and you hit jackpot. Better still, take some time-out alone periodically, find a serene place away from the norm. Just breath and think. You will be amazed at what you’ll discover.
My friend, life is in cycles, there are seasons of boom and recession but the one who has trained himself to discover opportunities will always thrive.
You have One Life to Live, Make It Count!
