Back on Track
Dear reader, it,s good I have not shut down this blog. My paid blog version, http://centreforvictoriousliving.com is not accessible. So, I shall be using this very blog until I am able to find solution to the problem of accessibility. I am sorry for the inconvenience. Meanwhile, here is an inspirational and motivational article for your empowerment.
Find Your Own Opportunity
The story is told of the American boxer, Sonny Liston. Liston is the son of a tenant farmer. While growing up, he was served two long terms in prison.
While serving the prison terms and finding little to do, he fell in love with boxing and became passionate about it. Through constant practice, he acquired the necessary skills, stamina, and mental power needed to become a world heavy weight champion.When he went out of prison, he went full blast into boxing.
Noted for his punching power and durability, Liston reigned as world heavy weight champion from between September 25, 1962 and February 24, 1964. He had 59 bouts, won 55 (39 of which were by knock-outs), and lost only 4.
Dear reader, what does it take to achieve great success in life? The starting point to success in life is FINDING YOUR OWN OPPORTUNITY. There is a Saying, “God feeds the birds, but they must go and find the food.” How do you go about discovering your own opportunity? Below are four factors you must take into consideration:
1. Opportunities are Everywhere
One great fact we must note today is that opportunities are everywhere. If you have missed several opportunities before, those opportunities have gone forever. That is why it is said, “Opportunity comes but once.” But on a cheerful note, you must realise that other opportunities are coming and will continue to come. God plans it that way so that if we have frittered away opportunities in the past, He still gives us more chances of bouncing into prosperity by sending us more opportunities. And by taking advantage of opportunities He sends on our way, we become successful in life.
Liston found his opportunity in the prison, though prison is not primarily meant to be a place of opportunities. I think this goes to show that opportunities are everywhere you find yourself. There is something you can do right where you are now. You may live in the village, town, or city; you may be in your sick bed, prison, or in a wheel chair; the truth is, God orchestrated this world in such a way that you will certainly find something worthwhile to do, regardless of the place, location, or condition you find yourself.
So, to find your own opportunities, you must first realise that the opportunity you are looking for is close to you; you can always find something to do to change your fortune forever!
2. Fall in Love With Something
Vera Wang, the fashion legend, made multi-million dollars from fashion business. On the secret of her success, she said: “The key is FALLING IN LOVE WITH SOMETHING. If your heart is attached, then your mind will be attached to it. When you have a passion for something, then you tend not only to be better at it, but you work at it too.”
Now, it is not on record that Liston started boxing at age 5 or 13; it is also not on record that he had nursed the ambition of becoming a professional boxer; it is however on record that it was while he was while in prison that he learned boxing. Perhaps, he opted for boxing in order to kill the boredom in prison, but as he trained every day, he started putting more interest in the game until he discovered that he could do something spectacular with boxing.
To find your own opportunity, you must fall in love with something. Denis Diderot said, Only passion, great passion, can elevate the human soul to achieve great things.” The important thing is not finding something you love, but LOVING what you find. A person who finds himself in the countryside may not like farming, but if he puts his interest in it, and starts farming, he will discover that farming is not only pleasurable, it is lucrative as well.
So, your primary task is not trying to figure out what you love, but LOVING what you find. That is the secret of finding something great to do. While you may not find something you love, you can find many things to love.
3. Accept Anything that come Your Way
The secret of finding opportunities is accepting anything, situation, or any activity that come your way and looking for the good in it. You never know what you are proficient in, until you get up and try. Scientists have made us to understand that every human being is capable doing something extraordinary; they also made us to understand that the average person uses only one-tenth of his potentials, the other nine-tenth of his potential lies dormant. You are capable of doing many great things because of the great potentials God has deposited in you.
To know what you are carved for, you have to try your hands on anything you can find. This means you will be open-minded. Embrace anything, situation, or any activity. There are many activities around you , but you have to be observant enough to recognise them as worthwhile; for, as Thomas Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overall and look like work.”
Don’t run away from any activity, job, or task, because it looks difficult. People who do so miss great opportunities. You never know until you try. Try your hands on those things you find. Your progress and performance as well as your passion will later reveal the great opportunity embedded in the activity.
4. Swim Out With a Pearl
An ancient Babylonian proverb says, “If a man be lucky, there is no foretelling the possible extent of his fortune. Pitch him into the Euphrates and like as not, he will swim out with a pearl.”
There is no prophet that can foretell the possible extent of your fortune. That is why you must not allow any person to program your mind to doom. God does not program you for failure; He programs you for success. You should vehemently reject anything that contradicts God’s plan of success for your life. Life can be likened to River Euphrates, where all of us are cast into it. We are expected not only to survive, but to swim and come out with a pearl.
“Ah,” but you may ask, “How can I survive? I can’t swim.” Listen up, God does not put you in this world without giving you what you need to survive and prosper. God has given you everything you need to survive and not only that, but to prosper! Man can ask you to build without giving you the necessary materials; but God doesn’t do that.
You can swim. Anybody can swim. Nobody learns swimming from the womb. What one person can do, another person can also do. There is nothing any person can do that you cannot do. Who knows? You may even do better! The point I’m making here is, God makes everybody a lucky person, regardless of the condition or circumstance such a person may be facing.
God only expects us to use the great gifts and potentials He bestows on us to, not just survive, but to swim out of Euphrates with a pearl in our hands (to prosper).
How do you utilise your potentials? You utilise your potentials by using them. It is when you start using them that you will know what you can do best.
Liston discovered, developed and utilised his boxing talent through constant training. You learn to swim by swimming; you learn to write by writing; you learn to sing by singing; and you learn to box by boxing. Action is what you need. Action will lead you forward in finding opportunities for greatness.
And remember, people who drown in the sea of life are those who remain in the water. Don’t remain in the water, please swim and come out with a pearl in your hand. And live victoriously!
