Milton Berle once said “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” What this merely means is that we don’t always have to wait for an opportunity to present itself. What we can do is to equip ourselves with the necessary skills and knowledge to create an opportunity.
We live in a time where with just one click you have access to the internet which means that we are one or two clicks away from knowledge and videos that can equip us with various skills. That’s a major opportunity if you ask me. It is probably one of the best times to be alive because at just a click of a button you can start an online business. Social media has become a platform where those with successful accounts can make money by just posting and sitting at home. The list is endless but the point that I am trying to make is that every day we are given opportunities. The internet was just one example of an opportunity that presents itself to you if you have the privilege of internet access but let’s bring it closer to home.
The first opportunity that we get each day is 86400 seconds to do something with our lives. The moment we open our eyes, the first opportunity has knocked and is looking to enter. Many times we overlook this opportunity and think it’s just another requirement of life but it’s not. The fact that you are reading this post is a blessing. The fact that you woke up, went to work or an event is a blessing. Many people die every day and many people would give up everything just to see this day. Talk about being blessed but going even deeper talk about the opportunity that we have! I think let’s breakdown the word opportunity and do a bit of a throwback. The word opportunity is derived from Old French opportunite and directly from Latin opportunitatem which means, fitness, suitableness, convenience and favourable time. Just looking at the words or phrase given to us it becomes clear that opportunity is everywhere.
One of the words that stand out for me from the etymology of the word opportunity is fitness. We usually associate the word fitness with health. Which means that the fact that we could get out of bed this morning is probably one of the biggest opportunities we have today to do something positive and make a difference. However most of the time we just don’t see this as an opportunity or we miss the opportunity because it is dressed in overalls, and looks like work just as Thomas Edison once said. What I have realised over time is that we have perceived an opportunity as an email or a person in a nice shiny suit that we miss the simplest of opportunities because we expected a grand entrance.
Les Brown once said “I would rather be prepared and have no opportunity, than have an opportunity and not be prepared” However being prepared comes with knowing what opportunities you currently have and opportunities that may present themselves if you decide to take charge of your life. It starts off with taking advantage of the opportunities that we have on a daily basis. Imagine this, we have 365 days that are not promised to us and 366 days in a leap year for arguments sake that’s 365/366 opportunities. Which means that if your life goal is to reach out to over thousands of people removing social media out of the equation for now. This means that if you were to decide to make a difference in someone’s life every day that’s 365 people per day and if it’s done over a period of 3 years that’s just over a thousand people. This concept can be applied in the area of your choice but only if you open your eyes and start to see the opportunities laid before you on a daily basis.
I have always said if you have been given ten opportunities. Take all ten. Don’t take seven or nine. Take all ten because if you leave anything behind, that could possibly be the last time you see that opportunity. “Carpe diem” but most importantly seize the opportunity.
Tumisang Malete
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