What is opportunity?
*Note: I type this article while listening to the incomparable Erroll Garner Quartet, Paris 1973 and the great Ramsey Lewis “The In Crowd, 1965” (links provided below).
This is not an article about how to differentiate personalities and talent levels. It’s also not about joining the right organization or about geography and logistics.
I found in my career, more often than not, opportunity comes when you get the job that someone else has failed at. Also, opportunity is literally everywhere, take it and don’t wait!. Ironically many people have reiterated to me “I’m just waiting for the right opportunity”.. Really? Hell, I don’t know, where the hell is that–is there a book about that–where do I go to buy that book? If you know the book–I’ll buy it.
So much is made of the word opportunity, but what is it really? 10 people will give you 10 different answers. I’m just a country boy that went to the big city, but all I ever knew was going to work and wearing out whatever was directly in front of me, until I hit paydirt. The harder I worked, the luckier I got.. Those who are truly hungry for success, will ask for simply a chance at doing almost anything–I did.. Ironically many others want a 7 course meal set on a table for them waiting to be carved up and devoured. Some people wouldn’t know a great opportunity is even if they got slapped and handed the keys to the building–in fact I have seen a lot of folks wanting a big opportunity, when they were already in the middle of one.. So perception and recognition becomes part of the quagmire for those who are chasing the dream. There’s nothing wrong with wanting more and looking around for something you desire to do, but don’t expect a freebie to land in your lap that’s ready made and constitutes the payday you want without hard work and focus–it takes a MONSTER resume to be in that kind of demand.
SEEING IT FRESH EVERYDAY: The 1st time I drove into Colorado from Kansas, I was in awe many miles outside Denver at the majesty of the looming mountains in the distance. As the years progressed and a dozen trips later, I wasn’t rolled over by the Rockies until I was on them hunting or skiing.. That’s the problem with trying to stay focused on “opportunity” year after year, pulling into the same parking lot over and over again and often we lose sight of the opportunity at hand and aren’t as motivated as if it was still the first week on the job. Minds wander and the energy just isn’t the same. Complacency.. One day while driving into work I thought, I don’t even want to pull into the parking lot of that rat son of a bitch anymore.. Then I took pause and said out loud, “Am I crazy?? I have to see it like day 1 all over again and re-commit this morning!” And I did! I have actually used the Rocky mountain analogy in many counseling sessions to re-focus associates who were drifting with their performance. When I got through, I would say take 2 days off and when you come back to work and pull into the parking lot, you need to see it and feel it like you’re seeing the Rocky mountains again for the 1st time, or we’ll be done..
YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE: Opportunity is everywhere in America–yes there may be some pockets of the Country that have more density, thus more sheer odds, but in reality it’s everywhere. It’s what you make of it–similar to going to a bar on Saturday night–if you don’t believe in yourself and the mission at hand, no one else will either.
WHATS THE PLAN?: Some people contemplate opportunity as coming down to sheer math fitting their own personal desires, instead of how to work the situation at hand. WRONG! Have a plan, work and apply yourself, then the math will come! Don’t get it backwards.. A methodical and deliberate guy always beats a flash in the pan type personality. Also it does require hard work–grinding sausage isn’t pretty, but you may have to grind it out to succeed at almost any career path. NOBODY is going to gift/hand you an easy, million dollar a year job! Plan the work and work the plan!
HERE’S THE BEST GUIDE TO OPPORTUNITY:
1.) Show up.
2.) Show up on time.
3.) Show up on time with your game face on!
I actually had a huge sign made in California that read exactly as above, and I hung it inside my business. The employees caught the drift daily..
POTENTIAL vs OPPORTUNITY: One time I moved across the country and threw myself at a very TOUGH deal–a few months later the owner of the huge organization walked up to me unannounced and thanked me for the early results and he asked “What is it that you want?” My answer was “unlimited opportunity” and he gave it to me. But to get the unlimited opportunity, I had to count on myself, gamble on a huge move, and I made the opportunity work with NO guarantee of what was to come.
***So, opportunity to me is when personal desire and hard work hits a nexus and creates POTENTIAL for even more!
FORGET WHAT OTHERS THINK: One time I took over a business that was floundering and in particular was getting sliced up by a certain competitor in a zip code that was on the edge of both of our market assignments. Everyone there told me, “we can’t touch them in that zip code, they’ve owned it for years”.. I thought ok, that’s total bullshit, so I walked around to each work station and taped my business card with that zip code “hand written on the cards” onto every single computer in the building. Then I told the entire staff, you’ll be fired if you miss or pass on a single sale in that zip code–3 months later we were #1 in that zip code! The opportunity to be #1 was there all along! Remember, last month is ancient history and I could care less how others saw market conditions before–it was up to me to decide what the market was.
YOUR DECISION: It’s all up to you to determine the opportunities at hand instead of looking to find one that is ready made. FACE the challenges, handle the problems and get after it “as if it’s the main event every day!” DO NOT let 1 single person determine the trajectory of your career!
OPPORTUNITY REGARDLESS OF TALENT:–Erroll Garner couldn’t read sheet music but was the greatest jazz pianist ever. He didn’t let his inability to read music hold him back!
Erroll Garner Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44NZZqD75KA
Ramsey Lewis link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vu2tyk8cvc
Now, go get it and make it happen! The holidays are around the corner and the consumer will be spending money like there’s no tomorrow–get more than your fair share! It’s all up to you!
all the best to everyone,
Bruce Daugherty
P.S.: Always tip the piano player! And if they can play like Lewis or somewhere close to Garner make it a C note minimum.