“Opportunity is missed
by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work.” -- Thomas Edison
Be prepared for and be ready to take any and every
opportunity that comes your way. At times what may appear to you as big
obstacles are actually opportunities in disguise. Mr. Lair Ribero in his book “Success is not Accident” tells the story
of two Shoe-Salesmen who were sent overseas to search for new markets. Their
first stop was a country where everyone was barefoot. The first Salesman sent
back a telegram to the home office saying “leaving tomorrow, no one wears
shoes.” The second Salesman’s telegram was different. He said, “Great potential
market, no competition.” Visualize the success stories of these two Salesmen
and you will get to appreciate how we differ from one another by the way we
perceive every situation. When any situation is properly perceived, it becomes
an opportunity. This is the reason why some people can make it in a particular
business while some others fail abysmally in same business. They choose what
they see and see what they choose. Where some see obstacles, others see
opportunities. Where some see despair, others see hope. Where some see
darkness, others see light. Where some see a cup half-empty, others see same
cup half-full. When some see why it can’t be done, others see how it can be
done. When some see the end, others see the beginning. When some perceive
sadness, others perceive happiness. Where some expect poverty, others expect
wealth. Somehow, life tends to give to us exactly what we expect from it in
proportionate measures and nothing more. According to the late British Prime
Minister Sir Winston Churchill, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every
opportunity; an optimist sees an opportunity in every difficulty.”
Opportunities abound everywhere for those who take the pains
to look. The story of two young men I ran into sometime in July 2002 can best
illustrate this point. I ran into the two young men in a restaurant in Benin
City and we got talking. I found out that the two of them, who turned out to be
good friends, were about the same age and had similar academic qualifications.
They had both just lost their banking jobs for no fault of theirs. We talked at
length and we exchanged telephone numbers. Being Professionals like me, I was
interested in their progress and I advised them from my own experience. As at
November 2005 when I made detailed inquiries about their welfare, their
progress in life became very interesting to me. One of them decided to work for
himself while the other kept looking for a job. At the time I made contact, the
one who decided to work for himself had bought an additional car, had married
and was raising a family. The other one had sold his car and other valuable
property. He was still single and searching for a job. His situation was quite
pathetic. I was told that he was barely surviving on hand-outs from his
friends. I also learned that he was “dreaming” of relocating abroad. I fervently
hoped that it was not another pipe-dream. You may wish to recall that this
story is about two close friends. They both had a near-similar background and
were at a time faced with the same problem. One saw an opportunity, seized it
and prospered while the other failed to and was paying the price. I sincerely
hoped that the “failing-one” will make up his mind to do what is right. The
moral of this story is that one took his destiny in his own hands; recognized
and seized the opportunities that came his way. The other did not and he was
paying the price of his failure to do so. Similar stories are everywhere in our
society but with some variations. Remember, “Life is 10% what happens to us and
90% how we react to it.” The story of these two friends is a pointer to what
can happen to us when we fail to recognize and seize opportunities.
