Have an Opportunity Outlook

Have you ever had a time in your life where something happens and you feel like throwing your hands up and saying, “Enough!”

Sure, we all have.

One more thing is added to your already busy schedule. Or your car breaks down. Or you get some bad news about a friend or family member.

That, my friends, is opportunity knocking.

Opportunity Will Knock Down Your Door

There is an old saying, “Opportunity only knocks once.” That’s not true.

If you have an opportunity outlook you will find that opportunity is beating down your door.

Opportunity or Obligation?

Having an opportunity outlook is all about looking at every event in your life as an “Opportunity” rather than an obligation.

Each day presents you an opportunity to make choices. Will you be happy or will you be sad? Will you be confident, will you be fearful? Will you be helpful or helpless? You have the opportunity to make those choices. Those are your opportunities to chart your course. You have the power to determine your attitude and emotion at any given time on any given day.

Have To or Get To

Do you ever hear people complaining about “having to do something?” You probably hear it every day at work. Someone will say, “I have to do this report,” or “I have to go to that meeting.”

You might hear someone else complain, “I have to take the kids to soccer practice, “or “I have to go grocery shopping.”

Ask yourself this question. Do they “have to” or do they “get to?”

Think about that for just a moment. Are those things obligations or opportunities? Are they “have to’s” or “get to’s?”

Who Do You Know?

I’ll bet you know somebody who doesn’t have the opportunity to go to a job at all? You can bet that they would like the opportunity to do a report.

You can probably think of someone who would love to have the opportunity go to a meeting during their work day and sit around a table in a climate-controlled environment but can’t because their job is working in extreme weather conditions and on their feet all day.

That person who says they “have” to do something with or for their kids. They don’t “have” to do it. They choose to do it. It is a decision that they made at some point. They have turned it into an obligation.

How about the parents who would love to have the opportunity to enroll their kids in extra-curricular activities but don’t have the money or resources? Think of all the people who would love to have the opportunity to just have kids.

With a Tuna?

One day I was talking to a non-lawyer friend, Greg. We were sharing our calendar complaints and scowling about our schedules. I said, “Greg, I have to go to court tomorrow and argue a motion in a case.”

Greg looked at me and said, “Wow, that must be such an honor to stand in a courtroom and speak on behalf of another person.”

“What?,” I thought. It was like getting slapped in the face with a tuna.

But he was right. I worked years to become a lawyer. It took three years of my life to get my law degree. It took years of financial sacrifice to build a practice and to find clients who would let me appear for them in court.

The State of Missouri has granted me a license to help people with their legal problems. And I get to charge money for it! Is it an obligation or an opportunity? The answer of course is that it is an opportunity.

What is the Opportunity Here?

The answer to that question changed my entire outlook on the practice of law. That small shift in mindset added immensely to the daily pleasure in my life. Now every time I hear myself complain about some task I am about to undertake, I ask myself this question? What is the opportunity in this?

How can I view this with an opportunity outlook?

It might be an opportunity to be someone’s voice in court. It might be an opportunity to use my skill and education to better someone else’s life. It may be an opportunity to get paid for doing something I love. Or it may be an opportunity to share my philosophy with you.

Are events in your life obligations or opportunities? How would that little mind shift change your entire outlook? Are you willing to go from an “Obligation Outlook” to an “Opportunity Outlook?”

A Life Sentence

Wouldn’t you rather live a lifetime of opportunities rather than a life sentence of obligations?

Imagine how having an opportunity outlook would change the way you relate to your personal and professional life.

It’s all in your mindset. It’s all in how you frame your thoughts. It’s all in how you perceive the world around you.

Here is your opportunity to make your life more fulfilled. Take it and you will never again find yourself throwing your hands in the air and shouting “Enough!”

If you would be open to a conversation about how I can help you have an Opportunity Outlook, please contact me.