“The great secret of success in life is for a man to be ready when his opportunity comes.”
-Benjamin Disraeli
Opportunities don’t occur in life just because you want them to. More often than not, they take place because of planning and effort on someone’s part. They arise because circumstances were created that enabled them to occur.
...one of the most straightforward and meaningful approaches to creating opportunities in a person’s life is to establish and adhere to a template of positive behavior.
A list of the desirable habits that should help govern your behavior as a leader should include the following at a minimum: build on your strengths; see the big picture; develop exceptional relationships; act with confidence; ask for what you want and need; embrace success; act decisively; live purposefully; stay abreast of relevant technological advances; and embrace the potential of accepting challenges.
“When opportunity knocks on the door, you better have your bags packed.”
-advice to Denny Green from his grandmother
“Faith without works is not true faith.”
-biblical phrase
“If the majority were right, the majority would be rich.” In other words, if your opportunities were not validated by obstacles and failure, anyone and everyone would take advantage of them and, therefore, they would not exist.
The point to keep in mind is that sooner or later, fate will take a hand. The question is will you be prepared when it does.
“The ladder of success doesn’t care who climbs it.”
-Frank Tyger
Opportunistic leaders focus on their strengths rather than their weaknesses. They are aware of their natural talents and employ them to their utmost ability. They devote most of their time to doing things at which they are good.
All factors considered, individuals who are opportunistic are better able to prioritize their time.
“Only he who can see the invisible can do the impossible.”
-Frank Gaines
“The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.”
-Theodore Roosevelt
You must have people skills to be a good leader. The ability to inspire trust, to interact well with all kinds of people, to understand how people feel and think, and to treat people as individuals are examples of people skills that can help create a strong foundation for building exceptional relationships.
“Experience tells you what to do; confidence allows you to do it.”
-Stan Smith
Effective leaders have considerable confidence in their ability to perform their duties in a responsible manner, particularly their capacity to channel their energies and to pursue their priorities.
“One who never asks either knows everything or nothing.”
-Malcom Forbes
Almost everything in life is a choice. Effective leaders tend to make better choices. One of the primary reasons that skillful leaders are able to make better choices involves the fact that they often have more useful information available to reach and make decisions.
“Failure can be bought on easy terms; success must be paid for in advance.”
-Cullen Hightower
Effective leaders embrace success by putting themselves in a position to be successful. Not only do they know what they want, they are able to focus their energies on getting it...The precept to which they adhere is characterized by the maxim — carpe occasionam (“seize the opportunity”).
Opportunistic leaders are acutely aware of the need to keep abreast of relevant technological advances.
...leaders should also keep in mind that technological advancement should not be an end unto itself. The use of technology should be kept in perspective.
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared with what lies within us.”
-Oliver Wendell Holmes
