When opportunities come knocking.
Opportunities are everywhere. Some are as plain as day and others are disguised as hard work. Others take a while to realize they are an opportunity and some are created out of nothing.
There is only so much time available in day and it is not possible to say ‘yes’ to absolutely everything. Nor is it possible to follow every opportunity that comes our way. The question then becomes, which path does a person take or which opportunity should one pursue?
When opportunity comes knocking see if it follows your ‘guiding principle’.
Guiding Principle
A ‘guiding principle’ is a filter to help you decide when an opportunity arises if it is right for you to take.
For example my guiding principle is, ‘to have the freedom to spend time on relationships that matter to me and have time for activities and pursue interests I enjoy’. This does not mean I won’t have to ‘work’, but to have the flexibility and choice to do what I want, when I want.
How does it work
Personally, I come across tons of opportunities however I say ‘no’ at the time as they currently do not contribute to my guiding principle. Using mine above, if I was offered an opportunity to which continually required me to work 12 hour shifts, 5 days a week the answer would be a very quick no.
On the other hand, if an opportunity came up where I would need to invest a bit of time up front but provided a cash flow with little maintenance down the road I would be more than likely to take a deeper look into it as it does fit my guiding principle.
Hidden opportunity?
This is not to say that you totally discard opportunities that do not fit your guiding principle. Look and see if there may be another opportunity hidden in what is presented to you. Perhaps there is an opportunity for you to sell products however storing and managing inventory does not fit your guiding principle. Perhaps look at finding a dropshipper to take care of that aspect for you.
Try some out.
When checking if an opportunity fits your guiding principle and it’s on the fence, or if it does not exactly fit but your gut tells you it might, give it a try. Take the opportunity by the horns and go with it. See where it takes you. If by chance it does not work out then move on to the next one. At least you’ll know you gave it a shot instead of some time in the future wondering what would have happened if . . .
Opportunities are everywhere. Some are as plain as day and others are disguised as hard work. Others take a while to realize they are an opportunity and some are created out of nothing.
There is only so much time available in day and it is not possible to say ‘yes’ to absolutely everything. Nor is it possible to follow every opportunity that comes our way. The question then becomes, which path does a person take or which opportunity should one pursue?
When opportunity comes knocking see if it follows your ‘guiding principle’.
Guiding Principle
A ‘guiding principle’ is a filter to help you decide when an opportunity arises if it is right for you to take.
For example my guiding principle is, ‘to have the freedom to spend time on relationships that matter to me and have time for activities and pursue interests I enjoy’. This does not mean I won’t have to ‘work’, but to have the flexibility and choice to do what I want, when I want.
How does it work
Personally, I come across tons of opportunities however I say ‘no’ at the time as they currently do not contribute to my guiding principle. Using mine above, if I was offered an opportunity to which continually required me to work 12 hour shifts, 5 days a week the answer would be a very quick no.
On the other hand, if an opportunity came up where I would need to invest a bit of time up front but provided a cash flow with little maintenance down the road I would be more than likely to take a deeper look into it as it does fit my guiding principle.
Hidden opportunity?
This is not to say that you totally discard opportunities that do not fit your guiding principle. Look and see if there may be another opportunity hidden in what is presented to you. Perhaps there is an opportunity for you to sell products however storing and managing inventory does not fit your guiding principle. Perhaps look at finding a dropshipper to take care of that aspect for you.
Try some out.
When checking if an opportunity fits your guiding principle and it’s on the fence, or if it does not exactly fit but your gut tells you it might, give it a try. Take the opportunity by the horns and go with it. See where it takes you. If by chance it does not work out then move on to the next one. At least you’ll know you gave it a shot instead of some time in the future wondering what would have happened if . . .
Tagged as:
guiding principle,
opportunities