Opportunity

Opportunity: The Key to Success

 By Mike Thompson

“The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.” - Benjamin Disraeli

In his book Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell suggests that success has less to do with ability and more to do with opportunities. He’s not alone in this opinion; even Napoleon recognized this when he said “ability is of little account without opportunity.” Both appear to be right and evidence Gladwell uses proves it.

One anecdote he uses compares Christopher Langan, a genius with the IQ of 195 (45 higher than Einstein) who ended up working on a rural Missouri horse farm and J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb. According to Gladwell, both possessed similar innate natural abilities, but Oppenheimer's wealthy upbringing provided him key opportunities that allowed him to become a renowned theoretical physicist. On the other hand, Langan dropped out of college in less than two years after two pivotal setbacks. The first was his mother’s failure to sign the financial aid paperwork on time and the second was the school administration’s decision not to allow him to change his class schedule after the transmission went out in his car.

Would Langan’s outcome have been different if he was raised by a wealthier and more responsible family that provided more opportunities like Oppenheimers? Gladwell would say yes and although there are many other factors to consider I would have to say that I generally agree.

Take a few seconds and think about this. All the best intelligence, talent, ability, passion, or experience a person possesses can be irrelevant if not given an opportunity in a fertile environment at the right time. Profound isn’t it? You can have all the best genes and do all the right things, but without opportunity you will never be able to fully use either of them. No wonder 19^th century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli said, “The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.” 

If we want to be a success, we must be able to identify opportunities while they are available and be ready to take advantage of them when they come. In future blogs, we will look at these two issues individually. Until then, remember what Henry Hartman said, “Success always comes when preparation meets opportunity.”

Vision

Vision: Where are you going?

By Mike Thompson

“Show me a leader without vision, and I’ll show you someone who isn’t going anywhere. At best, he is traveling in circles.” – John C. Maxwell

Would you ever take a road trip or family vacation without having a destination? Of course you wouldn’t, it doesn’t make sense. What would be the point of driving somewhere if you didn’t know where you were going? After all, the point of a road trip or family vacation is to get to the desired location, right?

Unfortunately, this is how most of us go through life. We start driving without having a destination. Sure we have goals and dreams that we would like to accomplish before we die, but we never pick a specific destination. As a result, we drive aimlessly and eventually find ourselves settled in a spot that we never wanted or never saw several years prior. This result comes from lack of vision.

Vision is our destination. It is the place we want to be at the end of our journey. It answers the question, “where are we going?” Without it, there can be no direction. 

Have you ever asked someone for directions to a place you weren’t headed? Of course not, in order to get directions we have to have a destination. Once we have a destination or vision, we can map the roads necessary to get there. Without it, we can never get there.

How do I get a vision?

A vision can come from things like your dreams, values, passions, faith, upbringing, or personal mission. The most effective visions will answer the questions, “what am I born to do” or “what am I born to be?” In his book Leadership 101, John C. Maxwell in regards to vision says, “If what you’re pursuing doesn’t come from a desire within—from the very depths of who you are and what you believe—you will not be able to accomplish it.”

In discovering your vision, brainstorming is a good idea. Write down what you want to accomplish in life, your goals, your dreams, what makes you tic, and what you want to be remembered for. After you brainstorm look over your ideas and see what stands out or sparks a fire in you. Keep in mind even if you’re not completely sure where you want to go, that’s OK but you still need a destination.

Many experiences and transitions in life may change your heart, values, or priorities, but it’s better to pick a destination and pursue it than to wander aimlessly. The key is keeping your vision flexible but always have one to give you direction.

Thanksgiving

An Attitude of Thanksgiving

By Mike Thompson

Thanksgiving is an awesome time of year. What other day do families come together on to reflect on what we are grateful for and then devour it until we fall asleep? Of course we come together other times of the year such as Christmas to feast and exchange gifts but no other day do we come together and reflect on what we are grateful for. 

Much of this is due to our busy lifestyles. When we juggle work, family, shopping, chores, and the rest of everyday life, it seems we have little time to relax let alone ponder the seemingly meaningless details of our day. This is unfortunate, especially considering the benefits of thanksgiving. Being thankful goes beyond simply seeing the glass half full, it actually propels us into a mindset that not only changes our attitudes and the way other people treat us but also changes us.

Last fall, my wife and I had the opportunity to go Zimbabwe. During the trip we got to visit an orphanage. While there, the lady who ran the orphanage told us that someone had stolen some diapers they desperately needed. Keep in mind, these weren’t Huggies, they were cotton diapers that they have to wash and reuse.

As a response, many present from our group agreed that stealing diapers from an orphanage could potentially get you to the lowest part of hell. When the orphanage mom heard it, she quickly corrected us. She said think about how desperate and in need they are if they have to steal from us. It’s not their fault, she convinced us; they are just doing what they have to do as well. 

Needless to say, this blew our minds. Coming from the abundance of the west, it was hard for us to even comprehend this kind of idea but she, the victim, was filled with more peace and contentment than we were. Her peace and contentment not only spread to us but so did the understanding of the situation which I believe planted a seed that has sprouted at other times in my life, one time even recently.

Just this fall, I found myself getting frustrated at a close relative that I work with weekly. As I was driving, I began expressing my frustration to my wife when a good memory of him came to mind. I noticed my attitude and frustration towards him completely changed when this memory of him encouraging some homeless people replayed in my mind. Instead of remaining offended, I quickly became thankful for having him as a part of my life. My entire countenance changed as this ah-ha moment unfolded. 

At that moment, I started realizing to a greater degree the transforming power and freedom that an attitude of thanksgiving brings. Not only did it deliver me from my frustration at that moment, it changed my attitude toward him which changed the way I treated him, thus, making me a different person. 

I encourage you all to take a different look at the frustrating people and circumstances in your life. Not only during this holiday season but every day for the rest of your life, try to look for something good in every person and circumstance with an attitude of thanksgiving. You never know who you might change, even yourself.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Life Deposits

Life Deposits: Discovering Treasure in Meaningless Experiences

 
Ever wonder if there’s any value to those seemingly meaningless experiences you find yourself occupied with throughout your life? I do and I’ve discovered that though they seem meaningless, they are anything but.

I find myself intrigued many times after looking back at youthful experiences and discovering how valuable they were to my development. Experiences like high school football that taught me why teamwork was so important, how effectiveness in individual roles can determine a win or loss, and how to push beyond what I perceived as my physical limitations to finish the game, became a strong foundation that help set the course of the rest of my life. A job at a local McDonald’s as a teenager not only taught me practical things like how to cook & clean but also taught me key career skills like how to manage money, inventory, and most importantly, people. What experiences like these have you had?

Take a piece of paper and write down 10-20 seemingly meaningless experiences you’ve had in your life. Next to each experience, write down what you learned from that experience. Take a few more seconds and try to remember times when what you learned from that past experience has been used more recently. 

After you do this simple exercise, you may be surprised to find that what seemed like a meaningless experience was actually a life deposit that helped shape who you are today! Every learning experience, even those that seem the most irrelevant, not only changes our behavior but also changes our brain. A 2000 study by Brown University scientifically proves this.

“In the study, published in the Oct. 20 issue of Science, Brown University researchers taught rats to reach into a hole in a box to grasp food pellets, a new motor skill for the animals. After five days, the rats were tested (Science Daily, 2000).”

“The researchers found that not only had the animals’ behavior changed, through the learning of a new skill, but that their brains had also changed. Associated with that learning, the strength of synaptic connections between neurons in the motor cortex had increased through a process consistent with the use of LTP (Science Daily, 2000).”

Wow! This is an amazing find! When you learn a new skill not only does you behavior change but your brain changes as well! Understanding this may change the way you look at mundane tasks such as housekeeping, home repair, or helping your kids with their homework! I encouraged you to start making some more life deposits today! Subscribe to a magazine about a topic you know nothing about, take a night class at a local vocational school, or help a neighbor fix his garage. Just do it and watch yourself grow!

Reference:                                                                                          

Brown University (2000, October 20). Study Describes Brain Changes During Learning. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 19, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2000/10/001020092659.htm

Getting Started!

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Today, ironically enough, with all the “time saving” devices we use, one thing most of don’t have is time! Most of us are trying our best to balance work, school, family time, and entertainment with all the other necessities of life. Most of us also realize that if we were a little more organized and managed our time a little better, it could go a long way in making our lives simpler, less stressful, more balanced, and more effective in regards to achieving daily and life-long goals & objectives. At the same time, however, most of us are so overwhelmed with life that we’re not even sure where to start.

With so much information available from so many different sources on so many different platforms just trying to get started can be overwhelming and potentially discourage us from moving on. This is where Live Strategic.com comes in! We find, create, link, and repackage relative, practical, and to-the-point information and put it on one convenient location. 

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