I'll never forget the first day of one particular undergrad class I took. We did our typical classmate introductions in an untypical way. Instead of being asked for a barely-fun fun fact or stating a metric about ourselves that gives others no window into who they're actually sitting in class with, we were asked only for a name and 3 adjectives that best described who we were. I don't remember my other two adjectives, probably because they didn't get much of a reaction, but my third was "opportunistic". Upwards of 25 heads whipped around and stared at me with faces of disgust and utter confusion, and if we're being honest, I didn't get why.
I was under the impression that being opportunistic was about courage and adaptability, but a short google search later, I was clear as to why I recieved the reactions I had.
I was under the impression that being opportunistic was about courage and adaptability, but a short google search later, I was clear as to why I recieved the reactions I had.
With the exception of the last two words - "moral principle" - I stand firmly by my use of this adjective, and confidently by my intital thoughts - that an opportunistic person plays by the rules of courage and adaptability, exploiting chances offered by immediate circumstances without reference to a general plan. And while I thought I knew a lot of about opportunity back then, these few months back in good 'ol Waltham, Massachussets have taught me invaluable lessons about the nature of opportunity, and the way some of us choose to play life by the rules of this factor. I won't make the explicit statement that these rules apply to everyone, but they have very signficantly impacted the way opportunity shows up in my life.
#1: GET UNCOMFORTABLE AND UNFAMILIAR. Familiarity & comfort are two of the easiest ways to deter yourself from opportunity. When you are comfortable with the people, places, and perspectives all around you, there is little room for exploration, investigation, or crazy conversation. Simply put - worlds unfamiliar to you are drenched in opportunistic value, whereas worlds familiar to you have probably already offered you the majority of what they have to offer. If it's familiar to you, it's because you've already exploited a lot of the chances offered to you by immediate circumstances, most likely in the form of relationships built, things tried, lessons learned, and so on. Only a new world can offer you a 100% rate of fresh opportunity.
#2: GIVE UP CONTROL OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS. We often think that we have to build ourselves and our environments into these attractive landing-places for opportunities, but opportunities are spontaneous, as are opportunists. The more you focus your control on what's going on around you, the less room you give opportunity to interact with you. Aim to be a small part of a big equation, and live your life in ways that allow opportunities to come to you. In order to do this, for example, I always work on projects at a coffee shop instead of at home. I sit with my computer facing the majority of people in the room, and purposely make parts of my life such as this one, very, very public. I do this because people are always instinctually going to look through an open window, and often, willing to comment on what they see. Comments lead to conversations which lead to connections which lead to opportunities. Do you in a way that others have room to connect with what you're doing, and opportunity will likely start knocking.
#3: OPPORTUNITY COMES TO THOSE WHO KNOW HOW TO SAY "NO". We can never guarantee the value that will come out of an opportunity, or where we will find opportunities lurking, but we can absolutely make educated guesses as to which environments are more prone to and inviting of opportunities. I know that the chances of crossing paths with opportunity on a Monday afternoon behind the counter at Starbucks are slim, so when my boss calls to ask if I want more hours, there's a good chance I'll say no. Sure, it was an opportunity to make $40 more dollars, but an afternoon in a place I'm less familiar with is, in my mind, a better opportunity all together.
#4: OPPORTUNITY ALSO COMES TO THOSE WHO KNOW HOW TO SAY "YES". When something that'd you describe as "crazy and unexpected" comes up out of nowhere, there's a good chance it comes with opportunity attached. "Crazy and unexpected", though describing even the smallest and most temporary of all circumstances or situations, are equivalent to one of those "new worlds" that you've yet to navigate. SAY YES. You'll gain from it, I swear. I, myself, am a yes-person. This is why I have an old friend and his precious new puppy living on my couch for three weeks. Crazy and unexpected. This is why there's a good shot I'll be moving my life to Miami sometime within the next 20 days. Crazy and unexpected. And this is why I agreed to do hair for an entire wedding party just 6 hours before my flight. Crazy and unexpected. Yes's are opportunities. Say yes.
#1: GET UNCOMFORTABLE AND UNFAMILIAR. Familiarity & comfort are two of the easiest ways to deter yourself from opportunity. When you are comfortable with the people, places, and perspectives all around you, there is little room for exploration, investigation, or crazy conversation. Simply put - worlds unfamiliar to you are drenched in opportunistic value, whereas worlds familiar to you have probably already offered you the majority of what they have to offer. If it's familiar to you, it's because you've already exploited a lot of the chances offered to you by immediate circumstances, most likely in the form of relationships built, things tried, lessons learned, and so on. Only a new world can offer you a 100% rate of fresh opportunity.
#2: GIVE UP CONTROL OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS. We often think that we have to build ourselves and our environments into these attractive landing-places for opportunities, but opportunities are spontaneous, as are opportunists. The more you focus your control on what's going on around you, the less room you give opportunity to interact with you. Aim to be a small part of a big equation, and live your life in ways that allow opportunities to come to you. In order to do this, for example, I always work on projects at a coffee shop instead of at home. I sit with my computer facing the majority of people in the room, and purposely make parts of my life such as this one, very, very public. I do this because people are always instinctually going to look through an open window, and often, willing to comment on what they see. Comments lead to conversations which lead to connections which lead to opportunities. Do you in a way that others have room to connect with what you're doing, and opportunity will likely start knocking.
#3: OPPORTUNITY COMES TO THOSE WHO KNOW HOW TO SAY "NO". We can never guarantee the value that will come out of an opportunity, or where we will find opportunities lurking, but we can absolutely make educated guesses as to which environments are more prone to and inviting of opportunities. I know that the chances of crossing paths with opportunity on a Monday afternoon behind the counter at Starbucks are slim, so when my boss calls to ask if I want more hours, there's a good chance I'll say no. Sure, it was an opportunity to make $40 more dollars, but an afternoon in a place I'm less familiar with is, in my mind, a better opportunity all together.
#4: OPPORTUNITY ALSO COMES TO THOSE WHO KNOW HOW TO SAY "YES". When something that'd you describe as "crazy and unexpected" comes up out of nowhere, there's a good chance it comes with opportunity attached. "Crazy and unexpected", though describing even the smallest and most temporary of all circumstances or situations, are equivalent to one of those "new worlds" that you've yet to navigate. SAY YES. You'll gain from it, I swear. I, myself, am a yes-person. This is why I have an old friend and his precious new puppy living on my couch for three weeks. Crazy and unexpected. This is why there's a good shot I'll be moving my life to Miami sometime within the next 20 days. Crazy and unexpected. And this is why I agreed to do hair for an entire wedding party just 6 hours before my flight. Crazy and unexpected. Yes's are opportunities. Say yes.
#5: OPPORTUNITY SHOWS UP UNINVITED, meaning that it never comes "at the perfect time" or when "you're ready" for it to show up. If an opportunity presented itself and interrupted your plans as they were, then you can be sure you've correctly identified it as an opportunity. Don't wait for the time to be right because I promise, from my experience, it never will be. And the cool thing about thr ules of opportunity - courage and adaptability, is that courage is the force that pushes you forward, and adaptability is the forces that pulls you out of anything you could possibly get yourself into.
All great things to know, but if there's one thing I learned about opportunity over the course of these few months, it's this: opportunity shows up when you're doing something else, not when you're doing NOTHING. I was under the impression that coming back to Waltham was exactly what I needed. It was open-ended, I had not a single plan, and could do virtually anything I wanted to. It's a lot harder than it looks, however, to invent an entire life and world full of opportunities. From here on out, instead of thinking that the most opportunities exist on a blank canvas, I'm going to remember that the most opportunities exist in places that are (1) new, (2) challenging, (3) up to something.
So, in the meantime, that's where I'll be.
Thanks for reading, homies.
See you next week!
So, in the meantime, that's where I'll be.
Thanks for reading, homies.
See you next week!