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Capitalize on Opportunities
Disclaimer This e-book has been written for information purposes only. Every effort has been made to make this e-book as complete and accurate as possible. However, there may be mistakes in typography or content. Also, this e-book provides information only up to the publishing date. Therefore, this e-book should be used as a guide - not as the ultimate source. The purpose of this e-book is to educate. The author and the publisher does not warrant that the information contained in this e-book is fully complete and shall not be responsible for any errors or omissions. The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this e-book.
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Authors Bio Kurt von Ahnen is an entrepreneur living in the United States who loves sharing knowledge and helping others on the topic of seeking success and growth. Kurt is a passionate person who will go the extra mile and over-deliver. Kurt’s words of wisdom: "I believe that there are no secrets to becoming successful in life. And I truly believe the result to true success in life is the result from hard work, the preparation and the most important of them all, the learning from the failings.” Kurt’s favorite verse: “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, yet fools despise wisdom and instruction”. If you would like to learn more from Kurt, please visit: https://manananomas.com
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Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................. 8 Chapter 1: Welcome Changes As They Lead To Better Opportunities .......................................................................... 11 Just Go After Your Goals and Be Successful ................................. 12 A Look At The Interchange Factor .......................................................... 13
Chapter 2: Readying Yourself For Any Opportunities That Come Your Way ................................................................................ 15 Prepare Yourself For Opportunities That Come Your Way ............... 15 Using Opportunities To Your Benefit ............................................ 16 What Move Will You Make When Opportunity Comes A-Knocking........... 16
Chapter 3: Snatch and Take Advantage Of All Opportunities That You Can .......................................................................... 19 Don’t Miss Your Chance When Opportunities Come ................................ 21
Chapter 4: How You Can Bring Yourself The Best Possible Opportunities .......................................................................... 23 7 Tips To Getting The Right Opportunities Presented To You ................. 24
Know Who You Are ................................................................... 24 Stay Consistent For Branding and Marketing ................................ 25 Maintain Reliability.................................................................... 25 Master Your Skill(s) .................................................................. 26 Take Necessary Actions ............................................................. 26 Don’t Hide ............................................................................... 26 5
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Don’t Focus On The Money ........................................................ 27 How You Can Constantly Have Opportunities ................................ 27 Always Be On The Lookout For Opportunities ............................... 28 Stop Thinking Negatively ........................................................... 28 Stay Mindful Of Your Goal .......................................................... 28 Think Positive........................................................................... 29
Chapter 5: What You Should Know About Home Business Opportunities .......................................................................... 30 10 Things To Be Doing Before Getting Started In A Home Business Opportunity ............................................................................................ 31 Four Types Of Home-Based Business Opportunities To Consider ............ 33
Opportunity 1 - Opportunities To Build A From-Scratch Informative Website That Will Monetize Its Traffic .......................................... 34 Opportunity 2 - Opportunities To Join Affiliate Program That Provide Unique Links To Promote A Particular Service or Product ............... 35 Opportunity 3 - Opportunities To Join A Network Marketing HomeBased Business That Includes Free Distributor Website To Its Members ................................................................................. 35 Opportunity 4 - Opportunities To Be Paid A Fixed Amount For Carrying Out A Certain Task Online ............................................. 35
Chapter 6: How Will You Know If An Opportunity Has Presented Itself To You ........................................................................... 38 What Makes A Person An Opportunity Experts? ..................................... 39 A Look At The Opportunity Community................................................... 40 6 Key Things To Help You Better Your Opportunity Senses .................... 41
Learn Who Your Neighbors Are ................................................... 41 Solve Problems ........................................................................ 42 Look For Inspiration Within ........................................................ 42 Identify The Urgent Issues ......................................................... 42 Be Creative .............................................................................. 42 Do Something Now ................................................................... 43 6
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Chapter 7: Relationships Are Full Of Opportunities ................. 44 Opportunities Are Seen In Both Marriage and Divorce ........................... 45
Chapter 8: All Difficulties Present Opportunities ..................... 48 How To Find Opportunities ......................................................... 49 With Difficulty Comes Opportunities ............................................ 49 How Your Attitude Can Be Reflected In Difficulties ................................ 50
Conclusion .............................................................................. 52 Will It Take Me Where I Want To Go? .......................................... 53 Does The Opportunity Fit Into Your Life’s Purpose? ....................... 53 Are You Feeling Excited About The Opportunity? ........................... 53 Will The Opportunity Hurt Other Areas Of Your Life? ..................... 54
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Introduction
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Everywhere you look, there is an opportunity. The things you see, hear and do – all of has an opportunity attached to it. You may hear about opportunities from family and friends – regarding the things they’ve seen and heard. An opportunity can present itself when you’re on the computer, when you’re reading a book or newspaper or when you’re talking to business colleagues. Opportunities are everywhere! The way for you to recognize them is to open your mind and ears and listen to what is being told to you and comprehend that message! When you learn about opportunities, they may not be very clear to you initially. And, since they can present themselves in such an array of ways, you need to be open to recognizing them. Failure to do so means a failure to recognize them – and you’ll miss out on many of them. Look at the opportunities you now see before you. Some opportunities are far better than others. For some situations, the timing isn’t right. 8
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What people fail to realize is that a good opportunity isn’t just going to fall right into a person’s lap. They’re going to come from unexpected places – and that means looking long and hard to see if that opportunity is worth the risk. Once you’ve assessed the opportunity, it is now up to you decide which action needs to be taken. Remember, opportunities don’t last long, which means acting as quickly as possible. This leaves you with one of four actions to take: • • • •
Act on the opportunity Forget about it Allow someone else to take it Sit on it for awhile
Sara Henderson once said, “Don’t wait for a light to appear at the end of the tunnel – stride down there and light the bloody thing yourself.” Since opportunities do present themselves in various ways, you must decide quickly which ones to act upon and which ones to let go. The decision you make should be based on your experience, mindset and logic. You don’t have to go along with what others say or do around you. This is peer pressure – and frequently; it’s never the right decision. The decisions you have about good opportunities are going to have an impact, but the decisions about the bad opportunities will also be just as important. There are very few times when there is an immediate payoff of an opportunity. Therefore, when you see an opportunity, it’s best to ride it out until it’s done. Something else to keep in mind – many opportunities come with obstacles and problems, which is why you should be ready for them when they rear their ugly heads. You’ll need to be a determined sort of person with a stubborn streak to see your opportunity come to fruition.
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People who have a negative attitude don’t tend to hear about opportunities. Why is that? It’s because most people don’t want to share this information when those they cannot stand. You could also be the sort of person that is afraid of trying something new and resistant to new things. This resistance can hinder opportunities that could benefit you even in spite of your talents, skills and knowledge. The key is to persevere! Positive people tend to capitalize on the best opportunities, as they pay close mind to their behaviors and attitudes. They know opportunities are all around them and accompany them wherever they go. They know, for the most part, that they the ones responsible for the vast array of opportunities that are available to them. And, this happens because they’ve positioned themselves in such a way that they can be aware of them – to learn the information associated with them and to choose the possibilities that are available and get the full benefits tied to them. An opportunity is what you make of it – good or bad! Should you be taking advantage of an opportunity that presents itself to you today?
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Chapter 1: Welcome Changes As They Lead To Better Opportunities
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Whenever something in your life leaves – a client, job, project, etc. – know that it’s ending at the right time to make room for something else in your life. And, for you, that means welcoming the change to experience that opportunity. The Interchange of Success… do you know what this is? Most people don’t, but it refers to taking a good, hard look at your life and looking at your core values. How far are you willing to go to achieve something? How hard will you push yourself to attain it? You must understand what your level of success is – make no compromises in your life or relationships when trying to attain these successes and others approvals off it.
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Just Go After Your Goals and Be Successful There are other ways to measure one’s success in achieving goals. And, when life throws you something new and challenging in your way – more opportunities and circumstances – you must reflect on what your True Core Values are and the goals you made for yourself. At this point, you need to factor in on how the way the new opportunities are coming to you and are they fit into those True Core Values. If you know the opportunity will lead you to success but could be detrimental to other aspects of your life, you may decide it’s not worth risking. You have to know what your language of success, as this will help you to know when to pounce on an opportunity or let it go. This language of success needs to be in aligned with your True Core Values. And, they don’t align, then you’re going to struggle or feel confused with it. It’s not uncommon for an opportunity to arise when you are the most challenged. The opportunity may have arisen at this time for a reason, but you’re not sure which action you should take. Opportunities are always there, and the choices made are the reflection of your True Core Values. If something feels right, you’ll dive in full of passion. If something feels off, you may be willing to let things go and wait until something better comes along for you. The key here is patience. Whatever your path is, the key is to let the opportunity give you a chance to empower yourself to embrace changes that present themselves. A new opportunity can allow you to step out of the confines of your comfort zone and explore the new things around you. The key is to grow personally and professionally – being open-minded to the world around you and gaining insight during those reflective pieces of time. Many people are under the false assumption that it is fear that of change that keeps them from going after what they want. However, 12
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it’s not fear itself, but the anticipation and anxiety that causes fear and the worry of what this change means for our lives when it is made. For positive changes you would like to make – a new goal you want to take on – you need to have things change in your life to make it happen. Knowing what has to change can help you in making the right decision and give you the courage to go after what you desire. Of course, this also means being ready for making the change – a desire for things to change in your life. Your fear may be there, but do you have the courage to overcome it? When you know what fear is holding you back, you can focus on building up the courage to overcome it. Really looking at the opportunity and seeing if it aligns with your True Core Values is key to getting what you want and being successful. After all, it may be the best opportunity to come to you, but the timing may not be right.
A Look At The Interchange Factor Think about everything in your life that could go topsy-turvy if you went forward with this new opportunity. How intensive would it be for you to go after it? This may be the right time for you, but you may have other things in your life that need your undivided attention. Even if you must pass on one opportunity, there are always chances for more in the future – even better ones. Success isn’t just getting what you want. It’s also about knowing when an opportunity isn’t good for you and when you should go after one. This boils down to knowing what your True Core Values are – it’s what ensures your life stays aligned. When you get to the heart of it, you decide when it is and is not the right time or opportunity. And, when it is, what are you going to do to 13
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overcome the challenges you will face? What details will you focus on when you agree to this new opportunity? While you can’t know everything all at once about the opportunity, there are always challenges that will prepare you and keep you feeling strong. There will be many opportunities you are faced with that don’t let you change it, which means taking time out and reflecting on the options you have and how they fit into your current lifestyle. From there, you can look into adding another value. People tend to pass opportunities up because the timing is off. And, then they may pass on it because it’s not the right time. The key priorities come first, and if you feel something is off, you need to be willing to let things go. Your intuition and sense of self – trusting who you are – will help you to stay the right course. Keep having faith in yourself that all falls into place when the time is right.
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Chapter 2: Readying Yourself For Any Opportunities That Come Your Way
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If you want to be successful in life, you must be ready for an opportunity that may come along. There will always be opportunities in your path. For you, it means asking yourself if you’re ready to take on that opportunity. Some opportunities are noted as challenges, which many people tend to steer clear of. However, what you need to understand is that a challenging opportunity may be the one that turns your whole world around. From there, you need to know how to use the opportunities that have presented themselves to you. How can you do this? Prepare Yourself For Opportunities That Come Your Way Some people who have an opportunity may not even know they have it – they don’t realize it’s staring at them in the face. For example, a 15
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man working in the old field for eight years earned a $1,000 a month salary. He was unprepared for an opportunity and became the layoff victim in 2008. He had no investments to fall back on, and because he didn’t use the opportunity presented to him, he was unable to prepare himself. Using Opportunities To Your Benefit For you to be successful in life, you need to see the opportunity and use it too. Think of opportunities as being a door key. If you don’t use the key to open the door, it becomes useless. For example, a young actress visited her uncle on some personal business. During her visit, she met with a movie director who asked her if she would like a role in one of his upcoming movies. The young girl knew she wanted to act and gave her answer right away. She auditioned and wound up as the lead character. The visit to her uncle changed the course of her life, and it’s because she used that opportunity to her benefit.
What Move Will You Make When Opportunity Comes A-Knocking Will you be ready when the opportunity comes to you? How prepared will you be to take full advantage of it? The reality is that the majority of people will completely miss out on the idea of an opportunity. Why? It’s because people are led to believe opportunities are the result of something other than themselves – that they have nothing to do with the opportunities that present themselves. This is just not true! It’s been said one time or another – that people are where they are because of the choices they have made for themselves. 16
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So, asking yourself if you are ready when the opportunity presents itself is fairly irrelevant. Opportunities are not just waiting for you to open the door. Opportunities do not work in that fashion. Have you ever heard the phrase, “the future belongs to those who seize the day?” This is what opportunity is. They are universal principles that exist and work within everybody’s life for whatever reason. It’s one’s mindset that marks the difference between you and someone else regarding an opportunity – do you or do you not take it? Most people are completely unprepared for opportunities because they wait for things to happen to then rather than making it happen for themselves. These individuals are known as reactive individuals. People who do not wait for things to happen – people who make things happen for themselves are known as proactive individuals. They know that opportunities are only there when they prepare themselves for it. When you make things happen for you, it changes your life and those people around you. Every day you live, there are a plethora of opportunities for you to take advantage of. Of course, that means preparing yourself and recognizing what they are. You need to have faith that there is a multitude of possibilities and choices at your disposal. Your choices, your actions – they all create the opportunities you see before you. This is no waiting around and seeing what happens. Do you really want to sit back, watch and see – only to see the world pass you by with nothing to show for it? If you’re unable to make something for yourself, how will you address the opportunity waiting for you to let it in? People who pounce on the opportunities see they are not given what they got – they made it happen for themselves! And, if someone tells you that you don’t have to do anything to make it happen – remember, the old Tom and Jerry cartoon line “Don’t You Believe It!”
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While some opportunities do come your way through others’ choices, but it’s your own choices that affect the opportunities you may or may not have had! When somebody offers someone else an opportunity, nothing happens unless that person is truly ready for the opportunity. And, should they take advantage of it for the mere immediate satisfaction, the impact it can have in the long run will end. Here’s a way to consider this: A man given a fish will eat for a day. If a man is taught how to fish, he can eat for a lifetime. If you are unprepared for the message the opportunity happens to have, then how can you take advantage of it? People who ready themselves for opportunities – plan for them – are going to expect them at some point in time. Successful people never wait for opportunities to come knocking because they are constantly seeking them out and ensuring they have the opportunity over a barrel. They look at every day in their life as a new opportunity waiting to be conquered. Successful individuals see opportunities in everywhere they look. Even when they move backward from something, they see it as a chance to learn and grow. By seeing the world in this way, you see all kinds of possibilities. Thus, if an opportunity has to come knocking on the door, it probably means you were unprepared for it. And, you could end up missing out on something amazing. Don’t let this happen to you. Don’t let an opportunity slip by you because you were not prepared for it.
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Chapter 3: Snatch and Take Advantage Of All Opportunities That You Can
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Philosophers – from the time of Plato and Socrates to now – have said life is all about learning. And, that’s really the truth! Every day you wake up, you learn something new. Learning begins the moment you are born until the day you die. You learn something every day for which you did not know before. Your environment is constantly going through changes – whether you realize it or not. And, for you to adapt to the changes going on, you must learn from them, take what you learned and use it as you see fit. This is called survival of the fittest. Your demise is based on ignorance and failure to learn something. You must always be willing to learn if you are to grow beyond your place in life. By going beyond what you know, you learn new things. It’s why new things in medicine and science are discovered. 19
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People are constantly looking at ways to expand their knowledge as opposed to just getting older. According to Henry Ford, A person who decides to stop learning – be it at age 25 or 95 – is considered old. A person who learns every day is young and stays young. The best thing in one’s life is to always stay young, including the mind. Aging can affect every part of a person’s physical sense, but it doesn’t affect their desire and ability to learn. The problem is that very few people realize this. Despite the rampant ignorance in society, there is more than enough evidence of the desire to learn. People quickly pick up on what others think, say and feel rather than thinking things for themselves. Perhaps it’s ambition? Perhaps it’s laziness? Perhaps it’s something else altogether? If you allow someone to think for you, then you don’t give yourself the opportunity to stay young. Instead, you become old both in mind and spirit! Everybody has the survival instinct within them – learning to thrive is secondary to the survival instinct. It’s the corporate rat race; people who just want to get their paycheck after working 40+ hours a week are just surviving. People on a quest for something better are doing more than just living from one paycheck to the next. They are on the right path to surviving and thriving – and doing better than those who are just surviving. There is a plethora of opportunities for you to learn, grow and become a better person. The kind of opportunities you have and the number of them will depend on demographics, but the opportunities are there. The thing for you is to recognize and grab hold of these opportunities that allow you to thrive… not just survive.
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Don’t Miss Your Chance When Opportunities Come The biggest challenge you’re going to have in your life is seizing an opportunity. If you’re successful in this venture, it means being successful in your life. How can you seize this opportunity? How can you react to it appropriately? Your reactions and emotions to opportunities will help you to seize opportunities. This is the most important aspect of accomplishing something in your life. When you are presented with some type of opportunity, a person may grab hold of it while another person may feel indifferent toward it. People who seize opportunities are on the right path to their success. People who choose to be indifferent toward it – for whatever reason – tend to stay where they are. Unfortunately, the majority of people have no real understanding of how important opportunities are. They respond to something in a lethargic way for too long. People pay mind to the things in their lives as well as their attitudes and opinions. If people make sure to get out of their own way, they will be able to seize the opportunities that present themselves in their path. These opportunities are the differences between good success and amazing success. Since people are failing to pay mind to the signs and respond to opportunities that come their way, the actions they take are not in their best interests. This type of reaction is shown consistently throughout their lives and in similar patterns. There are numerous responses people have to good or bad opportunities, including but not limited to: • Total ignorance of the opportunity presented to them. • No sign of responsiveness until someone else shows interest in the opportunity. 21
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• Anger toward the opportunity. • Recognition of the benefit the opportunity brings with it. • Positive reaction and response to the good opportunity. • Impatience in seizing the opportunity – stress and anxiety in getting it. • Both emotional and physical delight when the opportunity becomes available. • Realizing one’s mistakes that keep them from seizing the opportunity. • Going after the opportunity even though the successfulness of it may be too late or may change the person’s mind of what attainment is.
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Chapter 4: How You Can Bring Yourself The Best Possible Opportunities
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Are you suffering from some type of problem such as the problem of opportunity? Having too many or not enough opportunities can be challenging for some people. A plethora of opportunities means the challenge of picking the best one for you. And, not having enough opportunities creates the challenge of having nothing to pick from, which means going along with whatever you do get. Most people want the problem of having too many to choose from as opposed to having none. Of course, those opportunities are better when they are the right opportunities.
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While you may feel overwhelmed by the number of choices you have, it does eliminate the issue of picking the wrong one. The advantage of having a good deal of right opportunities means they are best for you.
7 Tips To Getting The Right Opportunities Presented To You How can you attract the best opportunities? How can you find the right people to show you the offer you desire? Know Who You Are It’s important to know what your strengths and weaknesses are. What are you likes and dislikes? What are you passionate about? By knowing who you are, you reduce the chances of the bad opportunities presenting themselves and increase the number of right ones. When you’re clear about what you love, then it prevents opportunities that don’t align with you. It’s not uncommon to be inundated with opportunities, take part in them, and realize it’s not what you want. You may find that what you think you wanted isn’t what you wanted or needed. If you don’t have the passion to bring opportunities to fruition, then they’re going to fail. The key is to stick with passions that you love and will allow you to inspire others. Realize what your strengths and weaknesses are to help you find the right opportunities. If you have the basic skills of a writer, you can help companies with their web content, but you may find that you don’t really love doing it and not making the money you could be making if you have outstanding writing skills. However, if you’ve got amazing web design skills, you could make more money from it and be happy with what you’re doing too! You could deliver the material in the timeframe you give them, and everybody is happy all the way around. Make sure you know you, as this will bring you only opportunities geared toward you. You can ignore those opportunities that are not for 24
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you, decreasing the effort and time you put into them. By knowing you, you can know what opportunities are best for you and which are not. Stay Consistent For Branding and Marketing The key to successful marketing is consistency. Consistency is also important for branding yourself. People who are successful and influential would rather give opportunities to people they think will love what they do for years to come. Successful individuals tend to steer clear of people who constantly move from one idea to the next. For example, an employee who goes from one job to another in two to three months may be seen as unreliable and inconsistent. While there could be a reason for all the job-hopping, employers want someone who is stable and consistent. People won’t notice your value right away. It will take time for them to see what you know. Make time your best friend. With consistency, you build on what you’ve been working on already. Look at the successful individuals in the world – they’ve been consistent on what they’ve been doing. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg… they are all consistent and establishing a brand for themselves. If they do anything new, it’s usually related to what they already do and can do well. Maintain Reliability If you’re going to attract the right opportunities, you need to stay reliable. The right opportunities present themselves to be considered reliable. However, wrong opportunities are presented to anybody. When somebody offers you an opportunity, it means they’ve hard how reliable you are in producing results.
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Nobody presents unreliable people with good opportunities because it looks bad on them. Master Your Skill(s) This point is related to consistency. With consistency, you can master your skills, and this will help you to attract the right type of opportunity. When you’ve mastered an area that is valuable to others, you will be inundated with opportunities. For example, a person who is a master architect will be able to attract contacts once he/she begins a firm. People are always looking out for skillful individuals. And, masters will talk with other masters. If you want to be a master, you need to surround yourself with other masters. Mastery is only attained by constantly improving yourself. Take Necessary Actions Foster habits that allow you to take action on ideas. You want to come across as someone who can make things happen. Deliver on the things you say you will. When you’re taking constant action, the opportunities you want will come to you. Buckminster Fuller founded the principle of Precession, which basically means ripples are made when an object is moving. According to the principle, when you take action, you’re creating ripples that lead to worthwhile opportunities. Don’t Hide It doesn’t matter how good you are at something; if you don’t present yourself to the world, the world cannot find you. Be sure to attend events and seminars. Introduce yourself to others and use the Internet to exploit your skills and talent (to build a brand). You can be great at something, but if nobody sees or notices it, how are you going to get anything from it? Be sure you make yourself known, heard and seen to create opportunities that are right for you. 26
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Don’t Focus On The Money If you come across money-making opportunities, take a step back from them. For you to generate a profit, you have to work at every good opportunity that comes your way. If you don’t work for something, what’s the point of it all? Making money shouldn’t be your top priority. In fact, it needs to be the last. As the first priority, you have opportunities but not good ones. A search of the web brings out all kinds of websites that promise that you can make four to five digits a month with very little effort and time. These are not the right kinds of opportunities you want or need. In fact, these are considered scam opportunities that can land you in jail or damage your reputation (or both). When you put money last, you can find the better opportunities that will give you what you want. You also build a reputation with the work you put into it, and people will trust you more. How You Can Constantly Have Opportunities Are you in the search for a newer, better job? Do you want something more profitable? The key to having these things is to never run out of the options and opportunities – whether it’s something pleasurable, career-wise or relationships. You want opportunities to come to you rather than you constantly seeking them out. You want to be one of those individuals who appear lucky repeatedly. If you’re constantly looking for the break that will turn things in your life around, you need to depend on yourself to make it happen. You want people to wonder what’s so great about you that you have all the best luck. Here are four tips to help you become loaded with opportunities to choose from: 27
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Always Be On The Lookout For Opportunities There are always opportunities… everywhere you go, each day you wake up. If you want to benefit from those opportunities, you must allow them to come to you. You may not notice when these opportunities come to you, and your mind may let them go by. For this not to happen, you need to train your mind to get hold of the opportunities. Once the mind is used to this practice, you can look for and embrace the new opportunities. You want to be mindful of every opportunity – consider them, even if you feel they are not the kind opportunity you would normally take on. If the universe feels you’re right for them, you’ll continue to see them. You can also actively look for these opportunities. Stop Thinking Negatively If you constantly think negative thoughts, you’re never going to have anything good happen to you. When you’re waiting on opportunities, you don’t want negative thoughts to affect your mind and judgment. Forgo your doubts and worries; dispel your negative beliefs. A minute doubt can take huge opportunities away from you. That’s the power negative thoughts can have on the mind. When you find yourself thinking negatively, you’ll need to turn them into positive ones. A way to do this is through subliminal programming. This changes how you look at yourself and the opportunities presented to you. And, it’s usually subconsciously that this happens. Stay Mindful Of Your Goal If you’re going to welcome opportunities, you must remain focused on those goals you set forth. Go ahead and picture yourself attaining all those opportunities. When you do this, you make your mind aware that it’s okay to go after the opportunity you want because it’d be advantageous. Once your mind recognizes the desire you have for what you imagine, it’ll be 28
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easier for you to enact solutions that will allow you to conquer those opportunities. Think Positive Negative thoughts and emotions are very potent and can stop you from getting what you want. They can take away all the good opportunities and leave you with nothing. However, if you keep thinking positively, you create an aura of positivity that will help you to attract good opportunities. One way to do this is to look for subliminal messages and bombarding your mind with them. It’s the subconscious mind that is affected by subliminal messages (the conscious mind realizes what negative feedback will do). What are some positive subliminal messages you can use when you start to think negatively? • I bring myself the good opportunities. • I benefit from each opportunity that comes to me. • I am always grateful for the opportunities that come my way. • My attention is always focused on getting the most out of my opportunities. • Positive opportunities always bombard me.
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Chapter 5: What You Should Know About Home Business Opportunities
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All too often, people take advantage of opportunities that come their way. But this is the wrong thing to do. After all, opportunities can mean great things in the long run. Consider what people have said about missing out on an opportunity. Did they feel like they missed out on something they may never have a chance to experience again? These are the kinds of things that make people think nothing bad will happen to them; that they will take advantage of all opportunities that come their way. It’s not hard to be lured in by the Internet gurus who claim they can help you make money fast. Their version of opportunity is a bit hazy – so much so that it’s a bit considered like spam and buyer-beware.
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• Where does that leave you now? • Do you just ignore everything and just put your head into the sand? • How can you know if the opportunity presented to you is genuine or fake? • Should you take a person at their word along with the words of their groupies? • Do you hire someone to do the investigation for you? • Do you listen to the news? The crazy thing is that this is all nothing and everything! Considering the word opportunity, in this case, it would seem everything is a gamble. It’s a game that you have to choose how much to pay for and how long of a ride you will take. In fact, you may get defensive about the opportunity – how much can you stand to lose or how much will you gain from it? The word opportunity itself makes you wonder who the opportunity is for. Is it for you? Is it for the plan’s founder? Are you going to benefit financially? People tend to steer clear of opportunities until they do some homework on it.
10 Things To Be Doing Before Getting Started In A Home Business Opportunity If you’re not careful, you could get involved with all kinds of scams that end up with you losing money and hurting your reputation. With that in mind, there are a few things you can do before you begin any kind of home business opportunity.
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Research – Do your Google research to learn as much as you can about the home business opportunity. Don’t just look at Google’s first page, as people will do what they can to put their websites on top (even bad ones). Go ahead and read past the fifth page of the search results and more to find out if the opportunity is as good as it claims to be. Find Reviews – Be sure you find both positive and negative reviews of the home business opportunity to see what people are saying. Are there any negative things that should concern you? Consider Your Own Reasons – Once you’ve read the reviews, it’s time to consider your own pros and cons. The more pros you have for an opportunity, the better the chance the opportunity is good for you. However, if you look at the cons, they may be powerful enough to decide against moving forward. BBB Rating and Notes – The Better Business Bureau is similar to the Google first page in that it can be bought and paid for. After all, how can your account for an A+ rating for a company with thousands of negative remarks? Or, a low rating for a company with little to none? Talk with Industry Personnel – Reach out to those who work in the industry and talking to those individuals and people you trust. They can help to determine if an opportunity is legit or a scam. Look for A Business Plan – When you’re trying to determine if an opportunity is legit, consider inquiring about a business plan. This is the document that banks will look at when a person goes for a short or long-term loan. If there is a business plan, it means the opportunity is legit but has an upfront cost. Still, it could be iffy in working out in your favor. Upfront Costs – Are there any upfront costs? Do you have a monthly subscription fee to contend with? You certainly don’t want to be hit with the unexpected charges if an opportunity? Passion – One of the more important things of any opportunity is to realize if you have an interest in it. How passionate will you be about the work – not the money? 32
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Future Certainty – Ask yourself if this is something you could see yourself doing for 10 years or more. Scams usually don’t last that long and, if you have no passion for a good opportunity, then it may not be worth going after. Make sure you do your homework. Outside Influence and Pressure – Is the seller putting a lot of pressure on you about the opportunity? The key to remember is that you are the one who decides whether or not to do something. Don’t allow someone to tell you that you should do something for the sake of making money or some other too good to be true incentive. If they tell you that you have a limited time in joining, walk away. In every single point here, the key to remember is to do an in-depth amount of research on the opportunity. Remember, you and only you are in control of the decision. Is the opportunity right for you? Only you can know this. The biggest thing is not to be scammed and tricked into an opportunity because your trust was misdirected. With due diligence, you open yourself up to all kinds of ideas and possibilities.
Four Types Of Home-Based Business Opportunities To Consider Anywhere you turn on the Internet, there are all types of home-based opportunities to consider. It’s not uncommon for home-based opportunity promotors to make claims that their opportunities are the best to get involved in. With these claims, it can be hard for someone to know whether or not the opportunity is best for them. There are four general home business opportunity categories: •
Opportunities to build a from-scratch informative website that will monetize its traffic.
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• •
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Opportunities to join affiliate programs that provide unique links to promote a particular service or product. Opportunities to join a network marketing home-based business that includes a free distributor website to its members. Opportunities to be paid a fixed amount for carrying out a certain task online.
Opportunity 1 - Opportunities To Build A From-Scratch Informative Website That Will Monetize Its Traffic For this opportunity, your dream business allows you to start from scratch, but requires that you do the following things: •
Realize what your passion is.
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Think about topics that correlate to that passion using the right software.
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Recognize the most profitable niche of that passion.
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Define the niche using less competitive keywords.
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Outline a site blueprint.
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Create your website.
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Write website content using the less competitive keywords researched from before.
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Advertise your website regularly online.
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Use multiple streams of money-making options on the website.
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Cash out each month.
Now, looking at this, you may feel it’s time-consuming. And, you’d be absolutely right. Why is that? It’s because it’s a real business, and a real business will take you some effort and time. 34
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Plus, you’ll need to get creative. It’s a business just like a brick-andmortar store with no closing hours. Opportunity 2 - Opportunities To Join Affiliate Program That Provide Unique Links To Promote A Particular Service or Product This kind of opportunity is related to affiliate program marketing, which is where you join an affiliate program of something, you’re passionate about and promote the company’s services or products using the provided links. You can promote them in various ways, and some methods will do better than others. For this to work in your favor, you’ll need to keep track of the efforts you make to find out what’s working and what’s not. If you find a campaign that’s not working, move on and concentrate on ones that do. Opportunity 3 - Opportunities To Join A Network Marketing Home-Based Business That Includes Free Distributor Website To Its Members This kind of opportunity for home-based businesses are considered MLMs, which is where members are offered free distribute websites to promote the business opportunity. Like the affiliate program model, members of the MLM business opportunity use the website URL and bring in new team members through the tools offered on the new member site provided. Opportunity 4 - Opportunities To Be Paid A Fixed Amount For Carrying Out A Certain Task Online This business opportunity requires that you carry out a set of tasks so you can be paid. Some opportunities involve here, including being paid to write, paid to deal with customers/clients, etc.
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Be mindful though that Internet jobs are not always legit, and you need to do your homework here. Every home-based business opportunity has its positives and negatives, so you really need to do your homework here. For the first option, you’ll need to be in a plethora of work and time without seeing any immediate rewards for your efforts. This kind of online business usually involves writing an online book that won’t reap the rewards until that book is done and begins selling. It’s a long-term business that allows you to build traffic or a customer base through your own marketing and content writing. It’s tedious but can be very rewarding in the grand scheme of things. With traffic of your own, you are in charge of the business. For the second option, you are involved with an affiliate marketing program where you sell a company’s service or product to people who are in the market for it. You could make money immediately, or it can take some time to do. There is a catch here: Nobody everybody will make money doing affiliate marketing even if they spent a lot in the campaigns. How is that? You need to have a certain set of skills for success and be willing to learn them. For the third option, it’s pretty similar to the second one, but it is a little different. Nearly all network marketing home-based business opportunities demand members join but pay a registration fee. On top of that, they have to pay for one pack of the MLM product they’re going to promote in order to qualify for commissions. There is also a maintenance cost for this kind of opportunity. For the fourth option, it’s just a direct type of online business. You’re paid to do a set of assignments, but the drawback is it’s like a job. If you quit working, you’re not making any money, unlike the other opportunities noted above. It’s always possible to build up the business to where your efforts are not in vain, and the business can work on autopilot. 36
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Which option is the best one for you? That actually depends on your set of circumstances. The best one, however, is the one that allows for long-term business success and where you can step away, and the business continues running without you at the helm. This is known as making passive income. And, the one surefire thing is to pick an opportunity that will fit into your lifestyle and will work for you.
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Chapter 6: How Will You Know If An Opportunity Has Presented Itself To You
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There are two ways in which people react to opportunities that present themselves: • •
Welcome Mat Do Not Disturb Sign
With Welcome Mats, you are given a chance to greet opportunities with major gusto. People can be convinced and rewarded for taking action early on the idea. However, it can also cause scammers to introduce bad ideas that do little to help a person get what they want. For Do Not Disturb signs, it’s all about keeping a person from being introduced an opportunity. People are often wary and won’t react quickly to opportunities. They protect themselves from being 38
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scammed, but they also miss out on the opportunities that could be because of it. There is another group of individuals that embrace the opportunity and minimize their risk exposure. They’re known as Opportunity Experts.
What Makes A Person An Opportunity Experts? You may think that an opportunity expert happens to be at the right place at just the right time. However, that’s not usually the case. These individuals tend to have the ability to realize and make use of an opportunity that they wouldn’t have seen ordinarily. For them, it’s all about planning and preparation. They’re not waiting for the opportunity to knock. They go into the world with the idea to find opportunities that work for them and take the necessary action to make things come to fruition for them. The majority of successful individuals have developed a plan that lets them answer the following: •
What are they looking to attain today?
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What actions will they take to attain it?
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What methods will be used to make sure the actions they take are successful?
If their plan doesn’t give them the results they want, they don’t stop going after it. Instead, they look at the opportunity from another direction. They continue looking for ways that ensure they will be successful in their opportunity.
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A Look At The Opportunity Community There are no doubt how important networks are to recognizing opportunities. The “Old Boys Club” is not as popular as it once was, and opportunities are on the rise as more and more people share their knowledge and ideas. Still, with people moving away from personal contacts, the recognition of those opportunities is not as easy to see. If you’re going to make the most of opportunities that arise, you must have some sort of connection. You cannot be a lone wolf anymore. To be considered an opportunity expert, you must be good at mingling with individuals. You need to have some ability to turn a good idea into a worthwhile opportunity. You want to talk to people, ask them their opinions and connect with them. Opportunity experts work to develop business, technical and organizational senses, but they also foster their interpersonal skills such as: •
Ability to have empathy for others.
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Be sensitive to the current social trends.
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Can recognize cultural differences.
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Identify personal needs.
Simply put, they understand that each person they come into contact with can be an opportunity. To determine how sensitive you are to others, here are six questions to ask of yourself: •
Did I find out something new about somebody recently?
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Did I talk to somebody new recently beyond hello? 40
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•
Did I notice if any friends, family or co-workers were having a bad day?
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Was there anyone I know that had a wonderful day? Why did they?
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Was I able to teach somebody something new?
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Was I able to help any friend, relative or partner recently?
You shouldn’t be shocked if there are hardly any yes’ to the questions. And, if you fail to become aware of things, you’ll find that opportunities are lacking to come your way.
6 Key Things To Help You Better Your Opportunity Senses Despite being a great planner, communicator and sensitive to others’ needs, you may be wondering why some opportunities don’t come your way. The key point to remember is that almost everybody has a great idea they fail to do something about. In simple terms, there are moments when you’ll just miss opportunity knocking on the door. Does this mean you have to resign yourself to the Do Not Disturb sign type of life? Not at all! You actually can apply several techniques to help you improve your opportunity senses to ensure you don’t miss out on the opportunities that come your way. Learn Who Your Neighbors Are Although the community aspect is decreasing, the community on the Internet is growing. More and more social networks are being established, ensuring that people can reach out to each other even if they live worlds away.
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The great thing for you is to reach out and cultivate relationships with an array of individuals so you can see what opportunities come your way through the ‘Net. No matter what though, you need to be vigilant about who you share things with. If your instincts give you a bad feeling, listen to it. Solve Problems There is a plethora of issues that plague today’s world, which means we have a lot of solving to do. The key is to recognize which problems can be solved. You won’t be able to solve world hunger, but maybe you can for your local community. Once a problem has been identified, come up with opportunities that can be used to solve it. Look For Inspiration Within Think about the things that you need to fix in your life. It’s likely there is an issue others need a solution for as well. Begin small and test out various solutions to see which one will meet yours (and potentially, others) needs. Identify The Urgent Issues One of the biggest challenges in realizing opportunities is that they are only given a short visit. You must react quickly when an opportunity arises – while you have the enthusiasm for it and the solution is in your head. When there is some urgency, you need to come up with a solution that meets this immediate need and a short window of time. Be Creative Don’t just stare at an issue, hoping it will solve itself. You need to think beyond the box and come up with creative ideas that will solve problems. Of course, if you notice others are also on the same path as you, change course and come up with something else. 42
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Do Something Now When it comes to the obvious, you need to do something now. Opportunities don’t stick around, so you need to act quickly. You should always take some sort of action instead of living with the regret of what could have been. When you open the door to opportunity, there is that possibility of negative influences to enter too. Prepare yourself to fight a battle to win!
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Chapter 7: Relationships Are Full Of Opportunities
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Relationships offer great possibilities in expressing yourself physically and emotionally. The desired result of an opportunity is gratitude. How do you view your relationships with others and the world around you? Are you happy, loving, restless, hateful, etc.? If you know how you are, then you can express yourself in a particular way. Relationships are also opportunities to express one’s self. Opportunities are just a time and place to prove how nice or terrible you are as a person. When it comes to life, expression is a huge thing. Getting involved with someone is an opportunity that enables you to show someone who you really are and anything you want to express. Personal relationships with family, lovers, friends, co-workers and strangers all make up your being; giving you some type of purpose in 44
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life. Without them, you may end up being nothing because of the inability to express yourself and unable to say who you are. There is no way for you to show love unless you are allowed to experience it, and you can’t say you’re loving unless you had an opportunity to be so. The opportunity to express yourself in a relationship comes with it the responsibility of stating appreciation for the chance. Appreciation is the acknowledging of having something – an assertion of ownership. When you have received something, you must recognize it before it can become yours. Just saying you are appreciative for what you have received will be enough. Relationships can work because it allows people to express themselves – negatively or positively. They are either accepted or rejected but still have the opportunity to express who they are and acknowledge it through appreciation. It is human nature to express oneself about a relationship working or not, but it could be a different perspective for each person. This way of thought allows people to see life as a huge buffet with so many choices for them to enjoy and pick from. It’s this awareness that allows one to choose who to be with, where to go and how to express themselves. There is always an opportunity to welcome in a relationship – be it good or bad.
Opportunities Are Seen In Both Marriage and Divorce These instances of a relationship are the best times in which to express who you truly are – good and bad. Close partnerships lead to amazing opportunities, as they are the most difficult to get away from. There is always some urgency to address issues that are being faced. 45
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These are great opportunities in which to act and react to things in your best interest. If there is a person you are at odds with offering you an opportunity, it allows you to show them who you truly are. Describing a relationship as good or bad, right or wrong is an unfortunate way of doing so. All relationships can be good and work, even if you must decide to walk away from it. These opportunities come to you because of the desire to express who you are. For instance, a driver who cuts you off gives you an opportunity to react. At that moment, your consciousness will give you an experience of anger, pity or even understanding. The reckless driver is the opportunity asked for whether or not you appreciate it then. If you’re more aware of opportunities, you would understand the gift given to you. Even relationships that are failing can give you opportunities to express yourself – to experience something more. There really is no thing called a failed relationship; only an opportunity to see that the relationship is not working out or is. You have opportunities that will allow you to fix the relationship, turn it into something good or bad or walk away altogether. You have the opportunity to suffer or become better. Physical love is never a reason to get into a relationship. After all, love is love. So, unless both people want to grow within the relationship, a physical relationship is doomed. All relationships must have some sort of self-growth declaration (a chance for an opportunity). It’s not uncommon for physical love to be replaced with chances for growth, which never goes away. And, you can always express your appreciation for the chance your partner has brought. If you see a relationship as an opportunity, there is a win/win sort of feeling for everybody involved. Relationships are opportunities for self-reflection. Imagine yourself as the quiet observer – you can reflect on your experience and make 46
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adjustments to thoughts and issues that arise. You can decide that relationships are a positive thing and how it benefits you. If you see relationships as good or bad, right or wrong, then you doom it by these decisions. Look at them as opportunities to turn them into something beneficial for you. Until you acknowledge and recognize your relationships by way of appreciation, you cannot experience them – good, bad or beneficial.
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Chapter 8: All Difficulties Present Opportunities
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It’s hard to imagine that every difficulty you face has an opportunity attached to it. How nice it would be if you could avoid problems and feel contentment in your life. After all, the hard times bring out the worst in people as well as the best. However, the fear associated with difficulties is often the best motivator to be a better person. Ask yourself these questions: •
Have I ever thought about changing the way I see things?
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How can I react in other ways to a situation?
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Am I overly emotional during hard times?
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Is there anything I can do? 48
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No matter what it is in life – business or personal – it’s so easy to say “you can’t” about something whenever you think something is difficult. However, it’s only a problem when you don’t think of ideas to overcome them and allow your emotions to control you. If you can change your mindset from “you can’t” to “you can” then you see the problems as an opportunity. According to Albert Einstein, “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” How To Find Opportunities Since success is not attained without some level of difficulty, it’s right to assume that every experience brings a possibility. Any problems you currently have has some degree of chance. You need to look for opportunities in your difficulties instead of the other way around. You should always look at problems as if they have opportunities. All situations can be challenging, and it could be the best thing for you. It’s no different than being in the pitch-black outside and knowing you’ll see the stars. For you, you must realize that all difficulties have a hidden opportunity, but you must look for it. With a little optimism, you can find the best in anything you come across in your life. With Difficulty Comes Opportunities You tend to know who the optimistic people are – they are the very successful, high performers (think actors, actresses, CEOs, athletes, etc.) They look at barriers and obstacles and see things happening for them instead of to them. Can you see and recognize the difference?
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When they look at difficulties in this way, they see opportunities. And then, they stick to the pathway that will help them to attain their dreams and goals. Now, you know there are two types of tendencies: •
Pessimists – These people look at only the flaws in things.
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Optimists – These individuals look at the opportunities a situation presents.
Ask yourself how you see a glass of water - is it half-full or halfempty? While the meaning says the same, there are differing opinions and stories.
How Your Attitude Can Be Reflected In Difficulties The circumstances that reflect the attitudes can determine if it’s right or wrong. If a person is overly optimistic, they may not consider the risks involved that could hinder their goals. If a person is overly pessimistic, they may miss out on genuine opportunities that can lead to a better life. When you know what kind of attitude you have in life and about things, you can use it to attain your goals. If you’re optimistic more times than not, you need to remind yourself that there can be consequences. As a pessimist, however, you need to give yourself encouragement to go after your dreams. Remember, opportunities show up when you least expect them to. The hardest part is becoming aware of them, as they don’t typically present themselves so openly. For you to find these, you must hone your instincts and take any necessary action. Be sure to look at your set of circumstances and
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determine what resources you have at your disposal to make an opportunity become a reality.
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Conclusion
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Most people have heard they should never turn their back on an opportunity. Instead, they need to grab life by the horns and go beyond their comfort zone to become an even better person, improving their skills and get more experience. It’s all true, but the opportunity must be genuine. Opportunities take on all kinds of forms – a job promotion, the possibility of a new project, speaking engagement, etc. It’s nice to be given a chance to showcase what people know and are passionate about – more so when there is a potential for an amazing outcome. A person who misses out on a chance for an opportunity experiences what’s known as opportunity cost. For instance, if you’re promoted in a position that requires lots of travel, the opportunity cost is missing out on family time and events going on in the family life. Opportunity costs are not always a bad thing. For example, the opportunity cost with a new job could be less commute time, which 52
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means you spend less time on the road and more time with the family or doing something. Another opportunity cost is making less money at a part-time job but more hours to do what you are passionate about. It’s why people feel an obligation to accept opportunities whenever possible and then spend the time to justify the negative opportunity cost. The reason for this is that people believe if an opportunity comes their way, it’s something they need. People have also been conditioned to think that lost opportunities will never come back around. They fear missing out as well because the people around them have grabbed the opportunity for themselves or have urged them to take the opportunity before someone else does. All opportunities have their own positives and negatives and listing them isn’t always possible. For that reason, there are four questions they should be answered that will allow one to gain clarity and make a sound decision. Will It Take Me Where I Want To Go? Basically, you’re trying to find out if the opportunity will bring you closer to your goals and not someone else’s. Is the opportunity aligned with the goals you have? Does The Opportunity Fit Into Your Life’s Purpose? If your business is to empower women, and you are given a chance to promote a book that targets them, you have to decide if its contents align with your core values and passion. Are You Feeling Excited About The Opportunity? Genuine opportunities allow people to grow, which is why it’s natural to feel nervous or have anxiety about the unknown path in life that you are about to embark on.
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However, fear should never get in the way of excitement. There is a significant difference in dread and butterflies. Will The Opportunity Hurt Other Areas Of Your Life? Ask yourself if you’ll be sacrificing something of value to take part in the new opportunity. Will you be happy in the grand scheme of things? When you’re faced with an opportunity, you need to recognize what the opportunity cost is. From there, you can ask yourself the four above questions to determine if the opportunity is truly what you want. By doing this each time an opportunity presents itself, you’ll know whether or not if the opportunity is right for you along with your family and business.
Manana No Mas! has a full course online to help you put this e-book to action. Simply go to https:// lms.manananomas.com and register to enroll in this course.
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