A favourable or advantageous combination of circumstances; a chance for progress or advancement.
To look into the world of opportunities is an art in itself, they say. Ever wondered how many pass by each hour silently, without even striking us. Are we utilising these opportunities judiciously or even engaging them? Maybe that’s our mistake. We slip them conveniently down our well designed procrastination chute – deep and narrow. Our thought flows and actions seem like waves – they go away, but how sure are we that they will return? “Oh! We can always perform that action later,” is our oft repeated thought, but most of the times, ‘later’ becomes ‘never’. Great ideas disappear faster than they can come – at the speed of light. A brilliant thought vanishes in a flash and so does a great opportunity. It, unfortunately, leads to a great moment being wasted.
So what are these opportunities? They can be:
Possible To write is an awesome opportunity, but one that I keep putting off, incessantly. “Oh, some other day/time maybe; why spend time writing when a lot more can happen over wine?” It is possible to use an opportunity to pen a great article- but one that I procrastinate on. Similarly, when we travel or simply go out to meet someone, an opportunity can crop up. It always happens, however minute that opportunity might be. Way back, about 15 years ago, we went on a drive with our team to a new developmental area in Bangalore named Kanakapura road. The area was still struggling with infrastructure issues. However, we saw to our amazement that a very smart hotel was taking shape – a shell almost ready. So we stopped and peeped in. I introduced myself to the owner (I was lucky he was around), and started exchanging pleasantries and information. The chemistry was just right and, miraculously, that single chance meeting became a new business opportunity. It became one of the signature hotels that I set up in Bangalore, and I continue to have a great relationship with the owner till date.
Feasible: Similarly, an idea is always a feasible candidate; give it some push and lo it may bloom into a fully supported magical opportunity. One never ceases to wonder how an opportunity crops up. A star is born and it culminates into a supernova! That happens when its opportunities run out. However, it must have created a planetary system before going into the black hole mode, thereby using up its last opportunity! Albeit a celestial one, the simile is pertinent here. Whether it’s a big ticket or a miniscule idea, there is an opportunity to grab at. The sun, they say, had a brother named Nemesis. It appears that they are connected once in 27 million years. Interesting indeed! However, the story doesn’t end there – the hypothesis is that he was stolen by a passing star! Talk about opportunity at an astronomical level – the rogue star devoured our own Sun’s brother!
Even the tiniest flower is a work of art by nature. The beauty in this little flower is amazing, the fine details are exquisite, but due to their size we miss out the opportunity of enjoying them. When you do take the time to look closely, you see a totally new and exciting world in that tiny miracle.
Take the case of a baby, for instance. How does it create an opportunity – simple: it cries its head out. The young mom runs to it – and lo the breast is thrust into the eager, hungry, tiny mouth. So when a baby creates such wonderful moments, what stops us? Nothing, but our silly ego or laziness!
Gayab (lost) opportunities
We have a way of losing out on most of the great opportunities that come our way. We miss the opportunity and end up giving excuses such as:
Lack of resources: The oft repeated excuse – “Oh! How I wish I had plenty of resources! Wish I had a big bank balance…” and so on, and so forth. We keep having these thoughts despite the fact that most of the times we may be able to complete the task with little or no money!
Time: Or rather the lack of time is one constant excuse that we tend to give. We feel that we don’t even have time to breathe, forget about doing that mundane task. We are so busy wasting our time, but we still wish we had 28 hours in a day.
Lack of knowledge: This may be a genuine reason, but in this day and age where technology is everywhere, seeking knowledge should not be so difficult. Want some information, ask Google uncle. There are experts in every field who may be available to help, however sourcing the right person is crucial.
Not ready because of some random reason: “I am just not suitable or qualified enough to do that particular task, so I better let it pass.” “May be another person or a different situation would work.” However, these are again convenient excuses. In the process of giving these reasons, we are really letting a significant opportunity, which could even be a life changing one, slip by.
There are times when we do let great opportunities slip by. We can then come to terms with it or repent endlessly. However, we must cut the losses and look forward for another opportunity. The famous proverb – ‘Failure is the stepping stone to success’ needs to be mandated on lost opportunities.
Finally, there is a saying in Sanskrit – Mounavaakya: Talk through silence. Ideas and opportunities may come to us silently. Sometimes we need to act on them silently and efficiently, without raising a storm. The main idea is to work in a way that best suits our situation, and helps us capitalise on an opportunity. After all, we have only one life to make use of our opportunities.
Venu Rao
Director Peacock Hospitality.
