Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. Thomas Edison
This week I'm in Orlando, FL on two different projects.
The one I did today was a workshop on social networking for the National
Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds (ARVC). It turned out great and
I had a lot of positive feedback, but the one thing my attendees need to do now
is to implement a strategy. In other words, this opportunity will take
some action.
I'm convinced that everyone has equal access to opportunities and luck. This is encouraging to me because I've run into a lot of people that complain that the only luck they get is bad luck. Now keep in mind that some circumstances are bad. Not a whole lot we can do about that. The part we can control is the actions we take in spite of them. Most of you are familiar with Kentucky Fried Chicken. You may not know that a set of bad circumstances for its founder, Harland Sanders was the very reason for it's success today.
Sanders had a very successful restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky and achieved a lot of fame and money from it. However, in the 1950’s a new interstate highway was planned that would bypass Corbin. Recognizing that his business was doomed, Sanders sold off his restaurant operations and after paying his bills, was reduced to living on his $105 a month Social Security checks. Confident in the quality of his fried chicken, at 62 years old, Sanders devoted himself to franchising his famous chicken. He drove all over the country, cooking batches of chicken for restaurant owners and their employees. If the reaction was favorable, he entered into a handshake agreement on a deal that stipulated a payment to him of a nickel for each chicken the restaurant sold. By 1964, Colonel Sanders had more than 600 franchised outlets for his chicken in the United States and Canada. Ironically, he was turned down 1,099 times before he finally found a buyer. That's what you call making the most of circumstance and taking advantage of an opportunity.
So what about you? What are you struggling with that could be turned into a great opportunity? Another famous person, Thomas Jefferson, was said to have remarked, "the harder I work, the more luck I seem to find." We live in a time where, with the leverage of technology, everyone has a fair shot at greatness. You can publish your own books, create your own record label, run your own virtual radio station, or pretty much anything else you'd like to do. The future is for each of us to create, not to become victims of.
I'm excited for the opportunities ahead. I hope you are too!
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