You just have to find one opportunity and make it stick. That's needed for all successful ventures, investment wins, and by extension inducing life-changing moments.
But before you get on to finding that one opportunity, you'll come across many opportunities that give subpar returns, mediocre outcomes, or simply don't align with your strengths and circumstances.
It isn't necessarily finding a needle in a haystack when it comes to finding that one opportunity among the many opportunities available to us.
I'd argue that nowadays opportunities are quite abundant in the digital economy we live in.
Between remote work opening up global job markets and e-commerce platforms with social media and online learning democratizing access to skills and audiences, the digital economy has facilitated the ability to turn hobbies into full-time careers.
So far, the most fulfilling opportunity I've come across is getting paid for doing what you already do or rather enjoy doing.
Isn't it fascinating that someone passionate about vintage watches can build a six-figure Instagram business flipping timepieces?
The opportunities are there. And the challenge lies more around selection and execution, not scarcity.
For the most part, I believe it's a confluence of being prepared, recognizing the right opportunity when it presents itself, and hitting the right timing.
Arguably, right timing could also be viewed as an element of luck here.
Because when you move with right timing, the work is less hard and much can be done for less, as in the wind blowing the sails forward while you only focus on getting the direction on point.
I like to view preparation simply as developing the right mindset and knowledge foundation.
Because when I look back at missed opportunities, it wasn't always about timing. Often, I simply wasn't prepared to recognize what I was looking at.
I could've joined crypto earlier in late 2020 and early 2021 when I first came across those funky looking digital art pieces on Instagram which I later learned were digital collectibles/NFTs.
Even though the timing may have been right, I wasn't prepared in terms of having some basic understanding of how crypto fits into the broader financial ecosystem, what blockchain technology actually solved, or how to evaluate different projects.
The click happened for me a year later when I eventually started watching long-form content like podcasts on YouTube about crypto.
By then, I had a bit of foundational knowledge to navigate this space and make informed decisions rather than just gambling on price movements but the sail has already sailed, so to speak.
In a way, most opportunities we encounter aren't actually subpar when you looked at it from the pov that we're just not the right person for them at that moment.
An opportunity might be perfect for someone with:
What we can do however is hone in on developing pattern recognition skills.
Each "missed" opportunity teaches you something about what you're actually looking for and what you're capable of executing on.
Also and as individuals, we have something large organizations don't: agility.
We can pivot quickly, test small, and move with less bureaucracy. This advantage only useful if we're prepared and paying attention.
Build a network before you need it. Maintain some financial runway for when opportunities arise. Develop strong execution habits on smaller projects.
Part of what inspired writing this post is realizing that finding the opportunity is one thing. Making it stick requires a different skill set entirely.
One that can't be cooked up on the go without first having a foundation of consistent execution and the discipline to see things through beyond the initial excitement.
The beautiful thing about focusing on preparation and pattern recognition is that it compounds. Each opportunity you evaluate, whether it is pursue or not, makes you better at spotting and executing better on the next one.
Time to get more reps for pattern recognition and execution.
Thanks for reading!! Share your thoughts below on the comments.
