Seize Opportunities Don’t Count Losses
About three weeks ago, I was at JFK
International Airport awaiting a flight to Toronto. Since I had some time to
spare, I decided to look around. I went into a store, and I saw a lovely
bracelet. If I were a cartoon at that particular moment, everyone in the store
would have been blinded by the brightness of the lightbulb that went off above
my head. I thought to myself, my wife would love this! Satisfied by my
excellent choice, my movement appeared to mimic that of Will Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air as I gleefully
bounced with the bracelet to the store’s sales representative to the to make
the purchase. She took the bracelet, looked at it, skimmed through a stack of papers
then said to me, “I don’t know the price of this.” At that point, I knew
exactly how the Wile E Coyote feels when one of his anvil traps for the Road
Runner backfires and gets him instead because I was crushed. I was unsure how
to respond, and with a confused look on my face I asked, “You don’t know the
price?” She said, “No.” I then asked, “Okay, so what now?” Then I followed my
question with, “I want to buy this bracelet.” She then apologized and mentioned
that she was new and unsure about a lot of the prices of the items. I am sure
everyone in the store heard the thud my jaw made as it hit the floor from utter
shock. While scooping my chin from the cold surface, I thought to myself, if
someone wants to buy $1000.00 worth of items, the store easily runs the risk of
losing such a sale because of
an untrained and poorly equipped salesperson.
One of the few positives that came for the encounter
was that it caused me to evaluate my life’s experiences. I wondered if I was
ever unprepared to seize an opportunity when it when it became available. Moreover,
opportunities present themselves in a multitude of ways on a daily basis. They
may come in the form of job prospects, new contracts, and the chance to sell
some more products just to name a few. Unfortunately, many opportunities are
wasted because we are unprepared for them or untrained just like the sales
representative I encountered in the store.
Therefore, you must always be ready to seize
any opportunity that comes. Here are a few tips that should be followed to help
in that regard:
·
Always be Prepared- Preparation is key.
Being prepared allows you to be like a sharp shooter with your eyes peeled on
the target and ready to pounce once opportunities present themselves. Don’t be like the lady in the store. She was
unprepared and unequipped which led to the loss of a sale, and it is safe to
assume that if ten people came in after me seeking the same product, she would
have left their money on the table as well. Take the international scouts motto
as your lives’ directive and always “be prepared”.
·
Don’t Listen to Critics- When
opportunities come along, all the critics come out to play. They may tell you
why your vision is a bad one, why your idea won’t work, or why you shouldn’t
take a class to improve your understanding to increase your chance of success. Steve Jobs opined best when he says, “Your
time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped
by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t
let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most
important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow
already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” Consequently,
use their negativity as the fuel to ignite and perpetuate your burning desire
to succeed.
·
Believe in yourself- If you want to become
a successful entrepreneur or land a huge contract, you can’t let fear and
self-doubt hold you back. You need to have self-confidence. I am a firm
believer in the notion that believing is half the battle won. Never let the
fear of striking out keep you from playing the game. Additionally, even if you
fail, don’t let doubt creep it in. Dust yourself off and try again. Use failure
as an opportunity to learn because in many cases a lot more can be learned from
failure rather than success.
Wonders can
happen when one is ready to seize opportunities as they come. Always believe in
yourself, filter the voices of the critics, and be ready to exploit any chance
that may become available at all times. You never know when a great opportunity
may come along.