“The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity” – Peter Drucker.
I recently sat in at a lunch conference with one of the top managers at Exon Mobile. Lucky enough for NMSU students, he is an alumni. As I listened to this man speak of how he had been challenged throughout his career I often heard him mention the word opportunity. I noticed that with every challenge he spoke of, the phrase “and I took that and molded it into an opportunity for myself” came shortly after. After I had caught on to this trend, I started to wonder how someone like him, someone with such an accomplished career sought out and created opportunities for himself and how he knew which ones were right for him. As I wanted to learn, I decided to ask. He responded, “I can make opportunities out of pretty much anything. Determining the right opportunities for yourself can only come after you sit down and decide what you want to do, where you want to go, and look at the steps you need to take to get there. I’ve never had a strict plan, because sometimes when different opportunities present themselves we shy away because they don’t follow our “plan” and it’s important to understand that no matter how much you plan for something taking the right opportunities become more important.” This stayed with me well after the meeting. I have often heard that the opportunities and choices that are best for us, are usually the ones we are most scared of. I don’t think anything could be more true. I’ve looked back at some of the choices I have made and realized that the best decisions came from doing something I was terrified to do. Usually if we have some reservation about it, it’s because of all the change that decision could ignite. Change can be scary but in the end change is how we grow. The more time I spent on this the more I pondered how we should seek and chose the right opportunities for ourselves. The guest speaker from Exon said that finding the right opportunities comes from knowing ourselves and what we want. Well, wouldn’t that be nice to really know myself at 23! I do agree that knowing myself is an important contributor in making the right decisions for my life but I also think those choices help me find myself.
When looking at opportunities you should look at the one that scares you the most. We learn from what we are afraid of. I think it is also important to look at how those you love will be affected. Of course everything should be done for yourself, but the right opportunities will never ask you to sacrifice your loved ones. Opportunities that are meant for us are able to help us in many ways. It is not a good opportunity if it is pulling on the relationships you have with others. Taking opportunities should strengthen those relationships. One should also consider how the opportunity is a step toward their future or their own personal betterment. I believe there are opportunities for growth, self-improvement, and just for plain old fun. When looking for opportunities you should consider the reasons you might want to take the opportunity. Is this a chance for you to move forward with your career? Is it just something exciting at the moment that will cost you later? If it doesn’t have a positive impact on your future, stay away from it. Remember the driving factors behind why you might want to take that opportunity. It is also important to remember that the right opportunities will never ask you to sacrifice any part of yourself. The right opportunities are meant to help build the person you are meant to become. Think of the bigger picture when looking at opportunities. What exactly will the decision entail? Are you pursuing something you really want? Could this change you in a negative way? Your answers to those questions are crucial because not all opportunities are meant for us and taking them could mean sacrificing something else that would have been better for you in the end.
It is hard as an adult, deciding which choices to make. Not everyone does make the right choices and sometimes people are looking for opportunities in the wrong places. Be open minded to new things and try out different hobbies and habits because opportunity finds us when we are doing what we love. It’s also okay to pass on an opportunity because it’s not for you at this time in your life. We can’t say yes to everything, so make sure the decisions you make are truly the best for you and your situation. Taking the opportunities that are meant for us instead of saying yes to everything that comes our way, is what will build you in the end. Once more, I do agree that we must know ourselves in order to seek the right opportunities but, I also think that taking the right chances is how we come to know ourselves as well.
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