Saying Yes to the Right Opportunites

flickr.com

Here's an important caveat to my last post re opportunities: In order to attract the right opportunities we must learn to say no to those requests that advance a selfish agenda and YES to those that completely align to our purpose of making a difference in the lives of others. Interestingly, our purpose on earth always involves creating change in the lives of others. Obviously what that looks like will vary, but it always comes back to something outside of ourselves....but I digressed, so let me take the conversation back to it's original intent - saying yes to the right opportunities.

The truth is that many opportunities will come our way as we become intentional about our personal development. Obviously they will catch us at various times and seasons of our lives. In the summer or spring time of our lives, we may be better able to choose only those opportunities that help us along our path to a meaningful existence. However, when winter sets in, when funds are low and debts are high, our ability to reject some offers may not be as strong. Our circumstances may require that we diverge a little from the path. As they say, "sometimes we have to do what we have to do until we can do what we want to do." It's all good. It's a part of the learning. All lessons are welcome.

What's important is that we are able to identify and differentiate between them. Not every income earning opportunity advances our long-term goals; not every project that comes to the table gets us farther up on the ladder to the top; not every ball that is pitched at us, improves our ability to swing. We must learn to identify the opportunities that benefit our cause, long before they come knocking. The truth is, opportunities to fulfill our purpose (that's what we're talking bout, right?) never come clothed in ego-boosting proposals. They usually provide a gateway to assisting others..and oh, yeah...they often provide a chance for earning too.

So the next time you're faced with a difficult decision as to whether to take up an offer, consider whether the opportunity advances your long term desire for meaning and purpose. If the circumstances (financial, social or otherwise) do not dictate that you must pursue these opportunities, say no. Leave space for the things that bring meaning and satisfaction.....those things that fuel your passions and take you outside of yourself. Go for those that will help you leave a legacy that's bigger than you are.

Opportunities Will Come

quotesgram.com

This may be contrary to popular opinion as it relates to success. And that's okay. I have found over the years, as I have tried to organize my life around the major principles and tenets of success, that though many of these principles are common, quite a number of successful persons have at times veered from the popularly-held success fundamentals and have created other rules that have worked for them. I may be at the same place as it relates to the pursuit of opportunities.

It was Benjamin Disraeli who said "the secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes." There are those who trumpet the importance of pursuing and seizing opportunities...and I guess it is important - depending probably on your personal success definition. I am one of those who believe, however, that opportunities will always come to the one who is sufficiently prepared to claim them. When the axe has been properly sharpened, felling trees is no longer a matter of strength, but of expedition and craftsmanship.

So the greater focus, I have come to believe, should  be placed on being and becoming the person it will take to master the opportunities that will come along. Marketing efforts come to naught if the product is flawed. Subsequent opportunities are lost if the current one is poorly executed. Sometimes it's not so much about the quantity of opportunities that come by, but the quality of those we implement. A satisfied customer does more to guarantee another sale/opportunity than any amount of fancy marketing campaign ever will.

So what are you doing to sharpen your axe? What is your strategy for becoming the best marketer/author/teacher/entrepreneur you can be? How is your personal growth plan progressing? How many lives have you impacted with your product/your philosophies in the last year? Let's be clear on this....no matter how good your product/service is, it is the personal philosophies and attitudes behind it that will make it sustainable or not. Your business/ideas/projects will grow only to the level of your own personal growth. So stop worrying about opportunities, you will attract them as you evolve....and that evolution is a lifetime work.