Are you there for yourself?
Success is when opportunity meets preparation.
When I read the above quote a few years ago, I thought it was quite true. You probably agree also that it sounds like good advice.
However, it was only recently that I began to delve deeply into what it really means.
Take the current Beijing Olympics, for instance.
The success of the few Olympians who get medals, come from the Olympic Games "opportunity" AND the 4+ years of (intense) preparation they went through.
That's something we can all learn from!
So how do we learn, exactly, from the above Olympic-caliber behavior?
First, visualize and describe (on paper preferably) your ideal "opportunity."
Next, create a training program so as to prepare yourself -- intellectually, emotionally, physically -- for successfully tackling all the challenges that you will face once your "opportunity" comes.
An opportunity could be:
- Meeting Mr or Ms Right
- Meeting the ideal business partner
- Meeting a big client
- Meeting the brilliant business teacher you have always dreamed of learning from (by the way, I'm available for hire. Just kidding.)
- Coming across a perfect business opportunity
Whatever the ideal opportunity is for you, it is never too early to start preparing and training for it.
Please note that an opportunity is not the same as a goal.
A goal is like a destination, whereas an opportunity is a challenge that, if successfully tackled, would move you dramatically closer to your goal.
For instance, becoming the greatest Olympian of all times might have been Michael Phelps' goal. And each swimming competition at the Beijing Olympic Games was an opportunity for him to move dramatically closer to his goal.
Similarly, becoming the number one tennis player in the world is Rafael Nadal's publicly stated goal. And every tournament match is an opportunity that, so far, he has successfully tackled in order to move dramatically closer to that goal.
The key thing to remember (and which most people forget) is that success is made up of 90% preparation and 10% opportunity.
In fact, the MORE you prepare and train yourself EVERY DAY, the sooner the opportunity will come to you. It's the Law of Attraction. It's quite inevitable.
Here's the best news: no opportunity is ever wasted.
For instance, even if your opportunity comes and you fail, then you can still consider that opportunity as being part of your training for a better opportunity!
That's how champions think: every failure is treated as a great lesson on the path to an even bigger success!
Therefore, champions don't get emotionally or psychologically disturbed by failure. They use it as an opportunity to take a closer look at their own training, and to improve it. Of course, it doesn't mean they don't feel bad or disappointed. But they face reality, take responsibility, and then rise above it.
The key question you have to ask yourself are:
1. What is the ideal opportunity that I am looking for?
2. What is it that I'm doing, every day, to prepare and train for successfully capitalizing on that opportunity?
The above questions are similar to the two decisions that a Texas oil billionaire recommended that people make, in order to succeed in life:
1. Decide what it is that you really want in life
2. Decide that you will pay the price IN ADVANCE in order to get what you want
The above questions, when examined carefully, reveal an important underlying truth: the universe, and all the smart and ingenious people in it, is there for you.
The only question is, "Are you there for yourself?"
Are you taking your life, success and happiness seriously enough to decide WHAT you want from life, and then to PREPARE every day in order to get it?
In an upcoming post, I'll further apply the above principles to how a person can get the job that he/she wants.
When I read the above quote a few years ago, I thought it was quite true. You probably agree also that it sounds like good advice.
However, it was only recently that I began to delve deeply into what it really means.
Take the current Beijing Olympics, for instance.
The success of the few Olympians who get medals, come from the Olympic Games "opportunity" AND the 4+ years of (intense) preparation they went through.
That's something we can all learn from!
So how do we learn, exactly, from the above Olympic-caliber behavior?
First, visualize and describe (on paper preferably) your ideal "opportunity."
Next, create a training program so as to prepare yourself -- intellectually, emotionally, physically -- for successfully tackling all the challenges that you will face once your "opportunity" comes.
An opportunity could be:
- Meeting Mr or Ms Right
- Meeting the ideal business partner
- Meeting a big client
- Meeting the brilliant business teacher you have always dreamed of learning from (by the way, I'm available for hire. Just kidding.)
- Coming across a perfect business opportunity
Whatever the ideal opportunity is for you, it is never too early to start preparing and training for it.
Please note that an opportunity is not the same as a goal.
A goal is like a destination, whereas an opportunity is a challenge that, if successfully tackled, would move you dramatically closer to your goal.
For instance, becoming the greatest Olympian of all times might have been Michael Phelps' goal. And each swimming competition at the Beijing Olympic Games was an opportunity for him to move dramatically closer to his goal.
Similarly, becoming the number one tennis player in the world is Rafael Nadal's publicly stated goal. And every tournament match is an opportunity that, so far, he has successfully tackled in order to move dramatically closer to that goal.
The key thing to remember (and which most people forget) is that success is made up of 90% preparation and 10% opportunity.
In fact, the MORE you prepare and train yourself EVERY DAY, the sooner the opportunity will come to you. It's the Law of Attraction. It's quite inevitable.
Here's the best news: no opportunity is ever wasted.
For instance, even if your opportunity comes and you fail, then you can still consider that opportunity as being part of your training for a better opportunity!
That's how champions think: every failure is treated as a great lesson on the path to an even bigger success!
Therefore, champions don't get emotionally or psychologically disturbed by failure. They use it as an opportunity to take a closer look at their own training, and to improve it. Of course, it doesn't mean they don't feel bad or disappointed. But they face reality, take responsibility, and then rise above it.
The key question you have to ask yourself are:
1. What is the ideal opportunity that I am looking for?
2. What is it that I'm doing, every day, to prepare and train for successfully capitalizing on that opportunity?
The above questions are similar to the two decisions that a Texas oil billionaire recommended that people make, in order to succeed in life:
1. Decide what it is that you really want in life
2. Decide that you will pay the price IN ADVANCE in order to get what you want
The above questions, when examined carefully, reveal an important underlying truth: the universe, and all the smart and ingenious people in it, is there for you.
The only question is, "Are you there for yourself?"
Are you taking your life, success and happiness seriously enough to decide WHAT you want from life, and then to PREPARE every day in order to get it?
In an upcoming post, I'll further apply the above principles to how a person can get the job that he/she wants.
posted by Super Peter at 1:37 PM
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