Sunday, February 28, 2010

When Opportunity Knocks

I'm a big believer in creating your own opportunities instead of waiting around for someone else to make an offer, but there are those rare times when opportunity does seem to knock of it's own accord. Then what?

It's never easy to know what the "right" thing to do is. In my world, this is because i don't believe there is a "right" way, only a series of choices that lead us to other choices...endless forks in the road. We all do, however, want the choices we make to lead us to realities which improve our circumstances, and create more opportunities, so when something wonderful comes along, realistically the choice would be obvious...to take that ball and run with it! Right? Well....

The problem comes down to self preservation. You see, most opportunities contain some kind of risk element to them. One of the most obvious risks is the one which involves drawing attention to ourselves, which can bring up all kinds of self conscious traits. Do I really want to do that? I mean, come on! If i expose myself, people might just see that i'm not some genius, i'm a total nerd, and even worse than that...someone might just ask me to do something that I've never done before, which i might FAIL!! FAR TOO RISKY!!

The truth is that we all do things that we have never done before in order to try new things we have never done before. We once took our first footsteps, which led us to walk, which led us to run, which led us to ride. You weren't born knowing how to operate a computer, or drive a car, or cook a meal...you had to try it first in order to find your way. In your career, this is no different.

So, when opportunity comes knocking, and surprises you with it's generosity, don't slam the door and run and hide under the bed. It's what you  actually wanted anyway. Just be careful what you wish for...