Have you seen the movie, Kingsman: The Secret Service?
If you haven’t then you should. In the movie, about 20 minutes into it,
there was a bar fight between Harry Hart (played by Colin Firth) and a
group of thugs. Before the fight, Harry was minding his own business,
chatting with Eggsy (played by Taron Egerton). The thugs walked up to
them, wanting to start trouble and told Harry to get out of the pub. He
gently obliged but as he was walking out, one of the thugs insulted him.
Harry responded by saying, “manners maketh man” and then asking them if
they understood its meaning. Apparently none of them did but by the
time he was done beating them up, I’m sure they would have understood.
The
article title is an allusion to that phrase, “manners maketh man.”
Whatever we are now (you and I) are direct products of the opportunities
we did or did not take. While some of these opportunities are easily
noticeable some others are not. Some you noticed/took up by yourself,
others were resultant of other people’s help. Whichever way, it is
common knowledge that you miss 100% of the opportunities you do not
take.
In his book, Outliers,
Malcolm Gladwell attempts to demystify outliers such as Bill Gates and
The Beatles. One of the points he makes is that the reason why Bill
Gates, The Beatles and some other great people got to where they are is
not because of some special abilities they possessed or because they
were geniuses (not all geniuses and talented people amount to greatness)
but because of the opportunities that were presented them which they
took.
Imagine if Bill Gates was born a
decade too early or too late and never had the chance to spend so many
hours learning computer programming at the young age he did? Gates
started programming in 8th grade and he spent most of his time from then
on in front of computers. His parents could afford such at the time,
and he made the most of their ability to. Imagine if when he got to
Harvard and met Paul Allen [whose connections and resources were vital
to building Gates’ abilities and business network], they didn’t become
friends and start Microsoft together.
As for The Beatles, they spent many hours playing together at small clubs before ever gaining recognition. John Lennon, in an interview, acknowledged that the eight hours they spent performing for seven days a week, day after day, would have never been possible if they had stayed back home in Liverpool. In Liverpool, they had just about a one-hour window of opportunity. In Hamburg, life presented them with eight hours, seven days a week and several months of performing together, all before they moved into the United States in February of 1964. The Beatles went on to become one of music’s legacy success stories.
As for The Beatles, they spent many hours playing together at small clubs before ever gaining recognition. John Lennon, in an interview, acknowledged that the eight hours they spent performing for seven days a week, day after day, would have never been possible if they had stayed back home in Liverpool. In Liverpool, they had just about a one-hour window of opportunity. In Hamburg, life presented them with eight hours, seven days a week and several months of performing together, all before they moved into the United States in February of 1964. The Beatles went on to become one of music’s legacy success stories.
The
truth is, our opportunities make us who we are. Haven’t you ever met
someone that you know you are better than or more talented than but who
is faring better (richer and more successful) than you? I know I have.
Sometimes, I envy them, most other times I don’t. I know that they are
where they are and I am where I am right now because of opportunities
and preparation. I am not saying that opportunities are the only things
that count in success, as that would be a terrible fallacy. What I am
saying is that they are very important factors that must be considered.
So then, if opportunities are this important to success, it is only reasonable to ask questions such as: how can I make the most of opportunities? How can I recognize or look for opportunities in a better, more productive way? And is it possible to regain lost opportunities?
So then, if opportunities are this important to success, it is only reasonable to ask questions such as: how can I make the most of opportunities? How can I recognize or look for opportunities in a better, more productive way? And is it possible to regain lost opportunities?
I will answer the
questions in reverse order. No, it is not possible to regain lost
opportunities. Opportunities are like time. Once they are gone they are
gone. However, the next best thing you can do is to try and create
another opportunity for yourself on that same platform. Say, for
example, you once took a job test or exam and you failed it; that is an
opportunity gone. However, if possible, you can retake the exam or apply
for another job. This time around, you just must be better braced for
the challenge. Get it? You must never give up on something you can
repeat.
Next: how can you recognize
or look for opportunities in a more productive way? Thomas Edison said
that we every so often miss opportunities because they are dressed in
overalls and they are called “work”. A major reason why people miss
opportunities is because they are lazy. Lazy people always look for easy
ways out (which sometimes can be cool but not usually wise). You have
got to wake up and smell the volcano ash. Life is not a pot of beans,
and neither is it a fragrant bed of roses. Brand consultant, Leke Alder,
once gave a lecture and in it he talked about opportunities being
disguised as problems. An easy way to recognize opportunities is by
understanding that every problem that presents itself has a potential
for a solution. Instead of seeing problems as evil, see them as
opportunities. Find a problem that you have an ability to solve and try
to solve it. Which brings me to the next point.
How
to do you make the most of opportunities? The first thing you must know
is that you have to be prepared. Yes, some things will catch you
unawares, but that should not mean that you should lie flat in defeat or
raise your arms in surrender. That an opportunity catches you unawares
does not mean it should catch you unprepared. Abraham Lincoln said, “I
will prepare and someday my chance will come.” Sometimes, opportunities
come and the people that make the most of them are referred to as lucky.
However, you must understand that luck equals opportunity plus
preparation (luck = opportunity + preparation). Seth Godin says that
overnight success takes an average of six years of hard work.
Another
thing you need to know is that you have to be decisive. When faced with
a decision, don’t overthink. Just make it! I find that sometimes, the
importance is not in the effect or consequence of the decision itself,
it is in the decision taking. You will be faced with tough choices, one
way or another. Thomas Monson says, “Our most significant opportunities
will be found in times of greatest difficulty.” But you must start from
somewhere. Start building your decision making abilities from little
things such as what to wear, what color of toothbrush to buy, what
amount of money to save or invest, and so on. You find that as you make
these small decisions, they affect you on a bigger scale.
Remember,
opportunities maketh man. We are products of all our taken or missed
opportunities. It is not possible to regain lost opportunities but it is
very possible to create new ones on the same or a different platform.
For you to recognize and better utilize your opportunities, you have to
embrace hard work, see opportunities in problems and make the most of
them. To make the most of opportunities, you have to be prepared. If
your opportunity has not yet come, keep working on yourself. Build your
decision-making ability and your knowledge base. Improve your life by
improving your habits.
This way, you
will envy people less and appreciate them more. You will understand that
you are not a lesser person; it’s just that your time to shine is yet
to come.
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