Life presents us with many opportunities. Some are small others are great. At times we can think about the possibilities and others present themselves quickly and are soon gone by. Sometimes we have control and sometimes things are out of our control. In mid-January I had made a decision to attend my aunt’s funeral in Louisiana. Two hundred miles down the road I hit a deer and limped home disappointed, but relieved that only the car and the deer had been damaged. An opportunity lost, but out of my control.
The great basketball coach John Wooden was quoted as saying, “When opportunity comes it is too late to prepare for it.” We need to make sure to prepare so that when opportunity comes we can take advantage of it. Wooden’s thought was close to a statement made by my original manager Paul Hutsey, who told me, “being ready for a promotion and an opening for promotion don’t always come at the same time, so make sure you are ready when the opening does occur.”
The preparation time is a chance to improve our self and even to develop the skill for improving others. When opportunity does present itself we have a greater possibility of taking advantage of the situation and having a successful venture. Lack of use of the preparation time could cause us to have to pass on an opportunity that may never present itself again. We must be in the position to seize the opportunity or risk regretting the lost chance far into our future.
Often some of our great opportunities present themselves as problems occurring in our personal or business lives. A friend of mine once described what he called a “problor-tunity,” the fact that a problem is simply an opportunity for us to show our problem solving ability. Without problems, and ultimately their solution, our skills might not be necessary. Taking the opportunity and solving problems sets us apart from those unable or unwilling to take the opportunity.
