Opportunities : Why to Grab Them?

“Nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity.” H.Jackson Brown JR.

Imagine that there is a beautiful wall in front of you. It is colorful and magnificent. A masterpiece of creativity and skill, if you may. It is like something you have never seen before. A unique creation and a perfect example of craftsmanship. It’s not made by the conventional building material but a collection of exquisitely colorful blocks. There is no one in this world who would not like the sight of such an excellent work of art.

The above-mentioned magnum opus symbolizes your life. The colored blocks denote all the opportunities you took to create such a life. They are the building blocks of your successful existence. You must also have faith in your ability to convert those small blocks of opportunity into a splendid state of being and then you must work the hardest. Faith can change dreams into reality and the loss of faith can change a real opportunity to dust.

“I’ve learned; That opportunity is never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.” ~ Andy Rooney

Francis Bacon, the famous English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, orator, essayist, and author has said, ‘A man must make his opportunity, as oft as find it.’ An evocative saying. Milton Berle the celebrated American comedian and actor shared another very important view. He believed, ‘If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.’ His take was a very bold one. As he has expressed in the above words of wisdom, sometimes a long and rough patch in life does not provide us any opportunity. In those cases we need to build one for ourselves.

“Most people miss Opportunity because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Thomas A. Edison

Life goes on in phases. There are crests and troughs. There are some really tough times that will test you to the limits and grill you like anything. I have seen some excessively harsh years in my life when my whole world crumbled around me. There were times when I thought nothing could ever be good again. Those most painful days of chronic ailment had not only destroyed my life but had devastated my career.

I was constantly in search of hope and something to hold on to. In reality the adversity I faced taught me two extremely important things. First, a person’s limits are stretched by adversity.

The person who faces utter hardship is never the same again. It’s the choices that we make at such unfortunate times that will shape our destiny as well as define our personality for the rest of our lives. Second, in such times of extreme hardship we start craving for even the smallest of opportunities.

We frantically try to find some kind of respite or some shelter from the continuous assault of those harsh conditions. Our eyes are set on even the most distant of oases. Even a small hiatus in the continuous phase of troubles gives us hope. This is actually the time when we start to value even the smallest of opportunity presented to us.

“Four things come not back: The spoken word, The sped arrow, The past life, The neglected opportunity.” Arabian Proverb

John J. Wicker the author of Into Tomorrow wrote, ‘Opportunities multiply as they are seized; they die when neglected.’ When you find an opportunity, take it and start working on it. Keep your worries aside. It will benefit you in some key area of your life or another, but just be careful not to throw it in the trash can.

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Winston S. Churchil