Opportunity Comes in Many Forms... Don't Miss It!

So here we are at 5pm on Friday and work is all but done (in truth I think most people have been done since lunchtime - a bit of sunshine and scrrrrammm....!). It's been a funny week. In a strange sense not ha ha :). Having had an important piece of business delayed and with some other initiatives start to take shape, another extremely interesting opportunity presented itself this week. A bit of a blast from the past from my time in the IT sector, a former colleague came to me with a proposal to work together on a project completely outside of my current scope. There's a lot to be done before making a decision but it got me thinking.....

We talk a lot about the importance of goals and how staying focused on those goal keeps us on track. Most of us have, or maybe should have(?!) a plan of action around what we're doing and what it is we're trying to achieve in the short, medium and long term.

It IS important to keep your eyes on the prize, no doubt about it. But.... Let's make sure we enjoy the journey as well as the accomplishments. What's the point of working flat-out to climb the mountain, only to have nobody to share the view with at the summit? It would be a travesty to achieve all that we thought we wanted, only to find that we've allowed the things that matter to wither on the vine along the way? The danger of being too-long term focused is that despite best intentions, today can  pass us by. That extra 5 minutes with the kids, the missed opportunity to get some fresh air, to call your friends, to do something other than work. As we've said before, what's done is done. You can't get it back.

The 2nd thing that came to mind is that opportunity presents itself in many forms. And that form probably won't be somebody stood there with a dopey grin and a sign round their neck with the word 'Opportunity' written large...

There's often a better, smarter way to achieve our aims but these options can be easily missed if we're operating at 100mph at the expense of everything else. How often have we said 'if only I'd known about that it would have saved all that wasted time'? What are the odds that the better way was trying to flag us down as we blasted by but we were blind to it? I'm thinking pretty high.

This week, it would have been easy to say 'you know, I'm really busy and I don't have time to meet you. This isn't my thing. Maybe another time....'. As it was, I took the time and discovered a potentially lucrative business opportunity to work with someone I know, respect and trust.

Sound judgement, or pure luck, I'm glad I saw it and acted on it, even though it's a clear deviation from my own plan. Sometimes the road zig-zags a little for a good reason....

It should also be said that you have to determine whether the things that appear to be opportunities are merely distractions in disguise and that's where our judgement comes in. Take time to evaluate. Our gut reactions aren't always 100% accurate but they often serve as a very effective early warning system. The joys of being responsible for our own destinies....!

So let's all try to look up once in a while, take in the view and enjoy the ride.

Thanks as ever for stopping by.

PS - And to my US friends, I hope you have a great 4th July celebration!