22nd October 2010
Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door.
Emily Dickinson
Ever heard of the universal doubt `which came first, the chicken or the egg?' So is the question whether we should wait for an opportunity and get ready, or be ready to exploit any opportunity. You do not know when your idea will work and which of your ideas will work. You also do not know when an opportunity will come. Someone said opportunities come disguised as challenges.
In my time management seminars I ask the participants to ask themselves two questions:
· Am I fit for today, and
· Am I ready for tomorrow?
We may be very much fit for today and we may be the best in the industry. But that does not mean that we will continue to be the best tomorrow also.
For writing my book The Gift of Time, I interviewed over five hundred successful people. Some of them are world class people, leading sports personalities, media persons, writers, politicians, successful business people etc. Some of them are also very successful parents having produced world class personalities.
One common denominator I noticed in all these people is: they are always alert! They are ready for any opportunity and their response time is very fast. They always have more than one option and more than one strategy. They are restless to keep themselves in this state of readiness. They are proactive. They are creative. They are very active. They bubble with enthusiasm. Their enthusiasm is contagious. Their presence is electrifying to those who are around them!
Over this weekend, ask this question: in the last six months, how many opportunities you allowed to slip by for the only reason that they were not ready?
N C Sridharan
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