Today's Business Lessons
Opportunities or bust?
(The Philippine Star) | Updated July 21, 2013
Opportunity knocks on your door but once, we’re told. So how do you
know when it’s the right opportunity for you? How do you know if you
should take it or let it pass?
I’ve had so many opportunities pass me by. I let those pass, for one
or more reasons: the time wasn’t right, the economy wasn’t doing very
well, and I had more important things to do. And then the familiar
feeling would grip me. Maybe you’re familiar with it too – the feeling
of regret.
And then there are those rare moments when an opportunity came, and I
responded in the positive; I grabbed it! It was really scary.
I remember being offered the opportunity to invest and host the very
first Dr. John C. Maxwell Conference in our country some eight years
ago. The investment was great; I was at the lowest point of my life – I
had to leave a business I helped started, and was deprived of
commissions, profits and earnings – so I had to sell a piece of
property. And I bet all the money in this venture. And it paid off! We
filled Araneta Coliseum up to the bleachers section and the PICC
Convention Hall the next day with people eager to learn leadership
lessons.
When the license to the training program was offered to our team,
again, I grabbed the opportunity, which made me a professional business
trainer and speaker. From an entrepreneur in the garments industry, I
shifted careers and focused on public speaking and corporate training.
It was a risk I took, but it paid off!
So how would you know whether an opportunity is one you should grab or one you may let go?
If you’re chasing an opportunity, perhaps you’re not ready for it.
Because when opportunity comes, you either just grab it or you let it
go. If you let it go, it may mean two things:
1. You’re not ready for it.
2. You weren’t paying attention.
A lot of groundwork is needed in order to prepare you for
opportunity. Due diligence, study, building a network, establishing
credibility, delivering results, deepening client relationship – these
are hard work, and require an enormous amount of preparation and
time. But these will make one ready for opportunities that would come his way.
Many of us go through life feeling down and depressed because we see
the opportunities others get and are deprived us. But to feel down and
depressed, and do nothing wouldn’t attract the opportunities to come.
One salesman complained, “Boss, we can’t get the account and we can’t
improve our sales because I’ve called up three different prospects, and
they all complained that our product isn’t good enough. We need to
change the product, we need to improve on the features, we need a
different business plan.”
Is that right? If this person were talking to me, I would’ve told
him, “You want me to change my business, and you’ve promoted yourself
into becoming my marketing consultant, just because you talked to three
people? Why not make it 300 so we can see if there’s any validity to
your claims? Maybe if you work harder and make more calls, you would
have more opportunities!”
Inaction will always find blame convenient. Opportunities come when
one does the groundwork and is prepared. If you want more opportunities
to come, work more and work excellently on what you have right now.
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