Over the last few weeks we’ve had two New Year celebrations. There was the January 1 celebration and on January 28 the Lunar New Year began. Throughout the year, there will be other cultural and spiritual markers of new beginnings. And of course, each of us gets our personal new year that begins on our birthday.
These celebrations got my mind and spirit stirring with thoughts and feelings about opportunity. Some say opportunity knocks once. If you don’t answer, you’ll miss your opportunity.
Others say you can create your opportunity. As you move about your life taking care of business, a conversation or an experience might spark an idea. You might get inspired to do something that solves a problem and invigorates your mind and spirit. Recently, I listened to some entrepreneurs talk about how their experiences ignited their passion to start business.
One talked about how a friend’s problem finding work got his creative juices flowing about building a business to support musicians and other artists. Another talked about witnessing international students’ challenges with getting credit. They couldn’t secure housing and meet their basic needs so he built a credit business. A third talked about how a starting a tutoring service grew her love for helping people be their best so she built a coaching business.
They saw a problem that they could solve and solving the problem was meaningful to them. The work they were doing connected to a personal mission and values.
They invest their energies in some good that is deeply meaningful to them. This fire in the core of their being is what lights the way for them. It keeps them moving, toward, noticing, exploring and creating opportunities that sustain and expand their work.
And here’s one of the most beautiful aspects of their work. Each of them built businesses that helped others thrive in their daily lives and their livelihood. Their businesses have a ripple effect. They give to their clients and the clients share their talents, the best of them with the world. It’s a great example of reciprocity.
So, what do you think? Does opportunity knock? Do you create opportunity? Do you happen to notice a path or problem that could lead to an opportunity?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you’re right. Opportunity will come when called. It will show up out of the blue. And it’s happy for you to create it in your favorite colors, fashion or form.
Our ability to see or create opportunity is intimately connected to our mental and spiritual energy. One person could listen to someone’s problems and simply feel sad and deflated. Another could listen and feel emboldened and passionate about how the problem connects to a cause near and dear to their heart.
Opportunity can knock but if we’re doubtful or get stuck in analysis paralysis, it may just leave. On the other hand, if we see a connection with our why, our mission, our purpose, we’ll open the door and invite opportunity in for coffee and negotiations.
When we connect opportunities to our deepest values and our purpose, we’re energized to move on them. Here are tips we can use to create and build on opportunities:
Connect opportunities to our values, mission and purpose.
Choose goals and projects that ignite our passion and will help us stay focused during the ups and downs of project implementation.
Choose projects that extend beyond our personal needs and help to solve problems others are facing.
Develop a plan for building on the opportunity. Identify resource needs and implementation steps.
Notice and acknowledge your progress. Let yourself feel how each part of the process supports your passion and purpose.
If you need support, contact The Living Source. Click this link to download your free copy of our EBook, “Plug In To The Power Of You”. You get a checklist to take your energy pulse and strategies to develop a plan for bringing your best to what matters most to you.
© Sandra Y. Lewis