“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” (Thomas A. Edison)
If you’ve had enough of doing something that you don’t really like and want a fat paycheck that comes from doing something you love, well, you probably should read further.
Most of us have probably had a job that didn’t offer much satisfaction on any plan. Even if the income was satisfactory and the job didn’t involve hard working, you could still get the feeling of something profoundly missing.
Ready to find something motivating that both fuels and feeds on your passion? Then you’re also ready to get wet because there is some serious swimming to be done when you dive in the ocean of opportunities. If you didn’t get that metaphor, let me put it simpler – you’ll need to work for it! A lot!
If now you’re rubbing your hands with anticipation then let’s go through a quick strategy you can start implement right away in order to create the right context for your future development.
Contents
1: Find your thing…or the Thing
The ability and power to create your own opportunities are closely related to the ability to identify and pursue those things that you are either good at or really, really interested in becoming very good at. If we consider a business opportunity, then we could be talking about recognizing a niche, a need or even building one for which you will be ready to provide a great service. Once you have a trend or a need written down – do your research, take all aspects into account and then set your creativity on it.
2. Strike while the iron is hot
It’s all about momentum. If you’re coat was on fire you wouldn’t ponder too much before trying to put out the fire. That principle goes very well with all things in our lives – there’s momentum everywhere – wait too much and the opportunity passes, move to slow and you’ll get lost on the way. For ideas and plans, the best time to take action is when they first come into your field of awareness. It’s now that you should take the first steps into defining your plans for future. However, there’s another perspective to compliment this one and it emphasizes the need to always have initiative and not wait until the iron is hot but, as William Butler put it, “make it hot by striking.”
3. Use Networking
It’s the digital age as you might have heard! Social networking is crucial for increasing exposure and potential professional connections. Get active and get out there to meet new people, especially those involved in your industry or the industry you want to break into.
4. Use your free time
That’s not to say – spend every waking minute researching stuff or looking for a better job but there’s definitely a big difference between spending hours on end dealing with boredom or complaining about your boss to your friends over some beers at the same local pub every weekend and taking up new hobbies, reading about interesting stuff or how others have managed to switch successfully from one domain to another.
5. Sharpen your listening skills
There’s always something to learn in this respect! Being a good listener will do wonders for your image, increase your level of information, productivity and the ability to help others which is essential in becoming well-integrated socially and experiencing the joy of being useful. Hey, are you listening?
6. Maintain Creative Challenges
Stick to those principles, people and habits that challenge you and get the best out your creative self. Make conscious choices, write down your objectives, thoughts and ideas and get started on something. And be honest. Goals will seem brighter.
Don’t let yourself forget that an opportunity doesn’t simply pop in and out – most of the time it just keeps moving until it finds the right ‘host’, someone who’s ready for it without even actually being ready for it (not too confusing here, I hope). So, next time you sense that you’ve missed out on a good opportunity, be sure that someone else will take full advantage of it and ponder on this words taken from Coelho’s Brida: “How much I missed, simply because I was afraid of missing it.”
