“When opportunity comes, it’s too late to prepare.”
–John Wooden
The first time I heard that quote, it scared me! Wait…what? I might miss an opportunity because I’m not ready? Worse yet, I might not even recognize an opportunity when it shows up?
Here’s what I’ve learned: Opportunities don’t always announce themselves. And they don’t always look like opportunities!
That’s why personal growth is so important. We need to prepare ourselves today for opportunities we don’t even know are coming tomorrow.
Let me tell you a story about a farmer and his chickens…
There was this farmer that had a chicken farm located in the flood plain of a river. Nearly every spring, his land would flood. It was always a struggle to get his chickens to higher ground. Some years the flood waters rose so fast, that hundreds of his chickens would drown.
After the worst spring he’d ever experienced, he lost his entire flock. He marched into the farmhouse and told his wife, “I’ve had it! I can’t afford to buy another place. I know I won’t be able to sell this one. What ever am I going to do?
She told him to buy ducks.
Here’s what I love about that story. The farmer saw a problem. His wife saw an opportunity. Same circumstances. Different perspective.
How many opportunities have we missed because we couldn’t see beyond what we already knew?
That’s why personal growth matters. The more we grow, the more we expand our thinking, our perspective, and our ability to recognize opportunities when they come.
And here’s something else I’ve learned: Opportunities often come through people. The relationships we build, the people we listen to, and the people we surround ourselves with can help us see possibilities we would never recognize on our own.
We don’t just need to prepare for opportunities. We need to
become the kind of people who can recognize them.
This week’s question: What are you doing today to prepare yourself for an opportunity you can’t see yet?
Don’t forget–Live2Lead this Thursday. The room is filling fast–you don’t want to miss it!
Register here: https://go.jan-mcdonald.
Preparing for opportunities!
Jan
Jan McDonald
Maxwell Leadership Certified Team
For more leadership tips, find me on Facebook @janbayermcdonald
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