Opportunities are around us constantly. In America, there is boundless and endless chances to make it. A lot of people don’t see it that way, but that is simply because they aren’t looking hard enough! As Americans, we abide by the principles of capitalism. This basically means you can make anything profitable with some work assuming there is a market for whatever it is you’re doing or selling. When most people see the world, they see chaos and develop anxiety. They dread the world, hide from it, and never reach their true potential. The people who are happiest and most successful see opportunity where others don’t see anything. When some people are in panic mode, others are ready to pounce on the opportunities that present themselves in any given situation.
It starts with a positive outlook
This goes without saying. If you are generally someone who doesn’t have a positive outlook on life, you won’t see much opportunity. These types of people blame external factors for their shortcomings instead of taking responsibility for their actions. Justifying a flawed outlook will only move you further along the wrong path. If your outlook on life is one of optimism, accountability, and persistence, you already have a head start on 90% of your peers! A positive outlook gets the ball rolling in the right direction, and creates positive momentum in your life.
Calm during the storm
During a crisis such as the 2020 pandemic. Many people lived in fear and saw nothing but doom and gloom. A small minority of people during this time decided to work on themselves and take time for some self-improvement practices. Many people took the time to come up with new and innovative ways to make money including starting an online business, a blog, trading in the stock market, and all sorts of other things. While these people were working on themselves and their capitalistic money-making skills, others were watching Netflix waiting for the days to go by and complaining about their boredom. See the difference? There are no situations in this country that don’t represent some sort of opportunity. To not take advantage of the creativity and freedom capitalism offers is silly. During the storm that was the 2020 pandemic, those who stayed calm and worked on themselves found life-changing opportunity.
Blocking out distractions
In today’s day in age, we are faced with so many different types of distractions. From social media platforms such as TikTok to binging Netflix, people occupy all their time with these time-wasting leisure activities. I’m not saying these things are bad, but they need to be kept in moderation. If you take a step back from all the distractions in life and have some time to yourself, you may be able to identify some opportunities that you may not have seen before. For example, an avid video game enthusiast who plays video games and watches others play video games all day long may be able to identify opportunity in their own life if they would just take a step back to think and reflect for a bit. They may realize they spend a lot of time watching people stream their favorite video game, and so do many other people. This sparks an idea in their head to get a web recorder and start their own video game streaming on platforms like Twitch and YouTube. These platforms pay popular users handsomely to make content many people enjoy through ad revenue and sponsorships. By taking that time to reflect, this person just created a cash flowing side hustle with a little work and good opportunity recognition. Making what you love to do into something that pays the bills is everyone’s dream, and is entirely possible with some reflection, critical thinking, opportunity recognition, and skill.
Well, how do i find something that works for me?
Only you can answer this question. If 10 people look at a Picasso painting, everyone might have a different interpretation behind the meaning of it. This is how life is as well; it’s open to interpretation. However, some skills are required to identify opportunity where others cannot. They are:
- The ability to focus: Because of today’s age of distractions, many people have very short attention spans. This is detrimental to success and leads to many people giving up easily. Try to hone in on improving your attention span if this is something your struggle with by limiting social media surfing and taking some time away from your phone to think and relax.
- Being able to separate from the crowd: Most people are followers and simply follow trends and what people who are perceived as “more powerful” tell them what to do. Don’t let this be you. Everyone is unique and has something good to offer the world. Know your worth and be an independent thinker.
- Staying calm: In the world today, there is constant outrage and panic. Staying cool and calm will allow clearer heads to prevail. Those who succumb to panic will most definitely see nothing but chaos.
- Opportunity recognition: This is perhaps the most important skill to have and its pretty straight forward. First, you must define what opportunity means to you. Does it mean having the ability to start an online business, learning and investigating real estate in a “bad” market, making your favorite hobby into a profitable side hustle or even full-time income? The more you reflect on your life and what you’re good at, what you like to do and why, what bothers you most that can be fixed in some way, and what everyone else is too scared to try or do, the more opportunities you will uncover for yourself.
These core four skills will put your mindset well beyond where the majority of your peers are. Once you identify one opportunity, many more will follow creating a domino-like affect. Opportunity awaits you!! Go out and discover it!