Life without opportunities is dull and unfulfilling. Lost opportunities discourage; lack of opportunities defeat.
We’ve all heard people wishing they had more opportunities. This happens for two reasons.
- Comparing our opportunities with others makes us want what others have. Envy and greed are, however, partners with emptiness and frustration.
- Wrong-headed thinking about opportunities. Opportunities are not primarily about getting.
Getting is the result of opportunity
not the opportunity itself.
Definition:
Opportunities are your chance to add value before receiving benefit.
You have more opportunities than you can imagine because opportunities are about giving. The more value you add, the greater the opportunity.
Confession:
Dark, greedy selfishness lurks in my heart, alongside generosity. I worry about giving too much and what I’ll get in return. I have two responses to my darkness.
- Be generous anyway. I call it acting otherwise.
- Experience shows the richness of adding value exceeds the narrowness of greed and envy.
Bottom Line:
The simple act of giving results in richness.
Adding value creates opportunity.
2012 Challenge:
Create a life of opportunity by thinking first of what you give rather than what you get. Worry less about getting and more about adding value.
Be generous and see what happens.
Resources:
Books that will help you build a life of opportunity.
Go Givers by Bob Burg
Leadership is Dead by Jeremie Kubicek
QBQ! The Question Behind the Question by John G. Miller
All Hands on Deck by Joe Tye
