When Opportunity Knocks!
One of our sons is a junior premed student and Guard/Forward at a local university. He was a star basketball player in high school. However, he was frustrated during his first two years of college because he did not get much playing time. My wife and I encouraged him to work hard and stay positive.
He demonstrated his work ethic this summer working two jobs. He worked 8 hours at his first job, and would immediately do basketball drills for an hour or so before valeting in the evenings. Although I always admired his work ethic, I would encourage him to take a break and he would often respond: “Did Jordan take a break?”
A few months ago he was frustrated after a game about his lack of playing time. I wondered how I could help him. I said to myself, “You are always motivating and encouraging others, why not leverage your motivational skills and speak to and encourage your son’s heart?” The next morning I sent him a text message. The message basically said:
“I love you,” “I believe in you,” “Never give up hope on your dreams and continue to prepare for your opportunity!”
I immediately noticed a difference in his confidence after that message. Most recently, he was given the opportunity to play more and seized the moment! He tied as the leading scorer and even had a nice dunk. We could not be more proud of him.
You may be asking, ” Why is Carlos telling me this story and what does it have to do with me?”
Well, I believe that we all get frustrated sometimes. Things don’t always go as planned and we need some encouragement. You may not be where you want to be in life or your career or may have a period where you are frustrated. No matter what…don’t lose hope or confidence in what is possible for you. You have to believe that opportunity will knock at your door!
4 Key Takeaways
- Be Confident-Don’t lose sight of your value even when you feel people around you don’t see it or appreciate it! Checkout my article: Understanding Your Value.
- Be Prepared for Opportunity-Make sure that you put in your work so that you are ready to go when opportunity presents itself! Do your homework and find ways to gain the knowledge and skills that will prepare you for opportunity! You may also need to position yourself to find your opportunity! Whitney M. Young said, “It’s better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.”
- Be Encouraged-Keep a good attitude and don’t be discouraged! When we get discouraged, we think negative thoughts. Stay positive! Make sure that you surround yourself with people who will encourage you. Also, be quick to encourage the heart of others as well. The right opportunity is waiting somewhere with your name on it!
- Seize the Opportunity-Being prepared is awesome, but when the time comes to get off the bench, don’t be afraid to take your shots! You may miss a few and that is OK; don’t let that stop you. Checkout my article: Go for It!
Be encouraged my friend and be ready when opportunity knocks at your door!
Remember, Greatness Awaits You!
Carlos T. Carter
Founder & Chief Motivator
www.seeds2fruitmotivation.com
Need a speaker?
Carlos, That is a powerful message that you sent your son via text! My wife and I were just talking about this topic last evening. The opportunity that I was able to take advantage of in the last month, was something that I had prepared for up to that point, and more recently, looking back began at the beginning of this year. I wrote a development plan (sounds impressive, but in reality, it was a word document with what I saw energized me and my insights) when I didn’t know where I was going. I started with what I wanted… Read more »
You are welcome my friend!