John Maxwell on Opportunity

3 replies
Hi all,

John Maxwell has just started a daily video message which I've signed up for called "A Minute with Maxwell". (It's one of the very few regular messages I'm actually very glad to receive.)

Anyway, I've been getting these for a few days and they're VERY good -- and of course, applicable to business. He's been speaking on a different word each day and a recent word was "opportunity." It's very relevant to IM. You can see it here:

"A Minute With Maxwell" Today's Word: Opportunity « John Maxwell Team | A Minute With Maxwell | Free Video Opt In

(There's no opt-in to view it, only to continue to receive similar messages.)

I love his point about recognizing and seizing opportunity: "When opportunity comes, it's too late to prepare." It's so true!

On a personal note, I lost my job last year. Within three weeks, I had two HUGE opportunities drop into my lap. I found a publisher for my book (which I'd only started writing within 2 weeks of losing my job) and I was able to enroll in a mentoring program with a woman who was just the PERFECT coach for me. (AND I found money I didn't even know I had -- in retirement funds -- to pay for it all!)

Because I'd been studying IM for a long time and had already made some money with it, I was ready when the opportunity came. My book is about online marketing and if I didn't already know so much about IM, I would never have been able to take that opportunity.

Interestingly, my fiance became under-employed at about the same time I became unemployed. (Talk about stress on a relationship!) He talked about wanting to start a day trading business and we talked about me giving him some money to start it.

Unfortunately, he hadn't been studying it and didn't know anything about it. Only when he saw he might be able to do it (with my money) did he go buy some books at Barnes and Noble. He bought 4 books, but couldn't even get through two of them, nevermind buying any homestudy course on it or going to a workshop or conference.

And the opportunity passed him by.

His argument was that, why should he study it if he didn't have the money to start such a business? My answer was, you have to study and prepare so that you ARE ready when the opportunity presents itself.

(We broke up and never did get married.)

I lost my job Feb. 19, started writing my book (about online marketing) within two weeks and found a publisher within another week and the date on my book contract is March 9. Talk about moving fast! Wow!

But I KNEW it was what I wanted to do and I was ready.

My mentors have stressed the importance of making the decision first and THEN figuring out the how. Don't wait until you know the how before making the decision. Make the decision, and the answers and resources will find you.

It seems counter intuitive, but I'm here to tell you from my own experience, it's true! Make your decision and start pursuing it, even if you don't really know how to do it. The how will find you (along with the resources, mentors, etc.).

Have a great day!

Michelle
#john #maxwell #opportunity
  • Profile picture of the author Don Schenk
    Good post Michelle.

    In talking about opportunity, John Maxwell says, "The question is, when you have it, will you seize it?"

    It reminds me of the time I was driving from Cincinnati to Cleveland - about a 4-hour trip. I was listening to a CD in which the speaker said then you think of something, it will appear, and he said the word "cows."

    I thought, well that's stupid. Why would my thinking about cows cause them to appear, but son of a gun, as I drove over the next ridge there was a cattle farm on the right - a bazzillion cattle.

    I hadn't seen a single cow during the previous 3 hours of the drive.

    Actually I probably had driven past a dozen cattle farms, but I didn't notice any of them because I was not thinking about cows. It was only when I began thinking about cows that I saw any.

    Likewise, it is when I am thinking about my goals, paying attention to learning the "hows," that I see opportunities - opportunities that are always there, but previously not noticed.

    :-Don
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    • Profile picture of the author Nightengale
      Originally Posted by Don Schenk View Post

      Likewise, it is when I am thinking about my goals, paying attention to learning the "hows," that I see opportunities - opportunities that are always there, but previously not noticed.

      :-Don
      Kind of like how we suddenly notice a certain kind of car we never noticed before until we bought one. We buy a specific kind of car and all of a sudden, they're EVERYWHERE. :p

      Really, it's about our level of awareness, I think. Too often, we go on autopilot and never realize how much we DON'T notice. With all of the information overload and stresses of life, it's easy to shut down to a certain degree. I think we have to make a conscious choice to maintain a certain level of awareness, appreciation and a "What if" attitude.

      Sometimes, pursuing an idea just for the heck of it, just to see where it leads, however out of left field it might seem, is just the thing we need to do.

      Michelle
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      "You can't market here. This is a marketing discussion forum!"
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  • Profile picture of the author fgrimes
    Just viewed your link. Love the inspirational message of course John voice sounds awesome. I am interested in other messages. Thanks for sharing.
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