“Have you ever felt you were ready but opportunity just passed you by? Someone else booked the gig, got the job, had something nice seemingly land in their lap, but not you. Do you know why that might be? There is an answer and today we’ll look into it.

Welcome to Part 5 of The Secret To Success And Happiness Few Know And Won’t Tell You. We continue on today. I hope you found the first 4 parts valuable. Ready, let’s go. Part 6 tomorrow.

Opportunity abounds. There are plenty all around us but frequently we miss them. Why do you suppose that is?  Perhaps, the truth comes in the statement, ‘when the student is ready the teacher appears’. The same thing could be said about opportunity.

Opportunity abounds but is often disguised, at times, literally and at other times because you don’t know what to look for. Either way you could be missing out. Certainly, you’d want to change that.

Opportunities Are Closer Thank Your Think

Napoleon Hill shared a fascinating story in his first book ‘The Laws Of Success’. It was a rainy day in Pittsburgh, one afternoon when a woman walked into a department store. You know how clerks can be. Either too helpful or not helpful enough.

Most of the clerks looked at the woman and decided she was not a shopper so they busied themselves with straightening shelves and racks. You might have thought as much too about her. She rambled the store aimlessly with no apparent particular purpose.

One young salesman, however, approached the woman. She told him she was not there to buy anything. She was merely looking, since it was raining hard outside. He assured her that was fine. She was welcome in the store and he engaged her in conversation.

Luck Is Where Preparation And Opportunity Meet

As the rain let up he escorted her to the door, helped raise her umbrella and sent her off. Before leaving she asked for his calling card. Time went by and the incident was forgotten by the young salesman. One day he was called into the office and shown a letter.

It was from a woman who wanted a salesman to accompany her to Scotland to take orders for furnishing a mansion.  The ultimate order was for an enormous sum. It was from the woman he was nice to. It was from the richest man in the world, Andrew Carnegie’s, mother.

It resulted in the young man advancing his career handsomely. Hill pointed out the salesman benefited greatly, but might not have, except for the fact that he took the time and was ‘courteous to an old lady who did not look like a ready sale’. No one else had.

The Pessimist Sees Difficulty In The Midst Of Every Opportunity…

Opportunity isn’t always apparent. You make your own by how you move through and act in the world. If you are genuinely nice you attract nice opportunity. THEN the opportunity presents itself, BUT it won’t happen if you try to make the opportunity.

Discovering opportunity works similarly to this. You buy something new, such as a new car. Suddenly, you notice that car everywhere. It happened to me in the last year. I see my model of the car multiple times a day. Prior to my purchase I was only casually aware of them.

Our brain has an area called the Reticular Activating System (RAS). One of its jobs is to find matches in the real world for our internal beliefs and attitudes. It’s why we ‘suddenly’ notice the other cars. Our brain is alerted to what we would otherwise not attend to.

…The Optimist Sees Opportunity In The Midst Of Every Difficulty

This is why some say we ‘attract’ our good fortune, that like things are drawn towards us. It is better stated, as the young salesman discovered, we create our own good fortune by our attitude and our actions. He didn’t prosper by meditating in his room, he acted nicely.

There isn’t anything wrong with meditation. I encourage it, practice it and teach it. Creation is an active process. So is attraction. If you want people attracted to you think and do those things that more readily result in that. Be nice first and others can respond in kind.

The people who experience the most good fortune and luck are not those who typically sit and wait for it to drop in their lap. They go first. They add value to others, they cooperate, work as a team, they are friendly and they are go-getters. They are pleasant to be around.

You Create Your Own Opportunity

A positive attitude gets you further faster than a negative one. If you focus on what isn’t working, what is wrong and negative you get what you focus on. If you focus on the competition and how they outdistance you, you will get back more of the same. Stop that.

You make your own breaks! In order to get ahead, focus on what you can positively do. Focus on solutions. Be genuinely nice and pleasant to be with. Be thoughtful and considerate of others. Maintain a positive ‘can do’ disposition. Be happy and grateful. Enjoy life!

If you aren’t already these things the good news is you can be. That is what this blog is about. I’ve spent decades assisting others to live their dreams. It starts with learning how to run your brain and mind so that it serves you and works for you they way it is intended to.

This Is The Beginning Of Anything You Want

You can transform yourself from less successful to more successful; From not so nice to pretty darn nice; From pessimist to optimist. It is all based on what you think about. What you think about most of the time is what you become and what you end up creating.

What you focus on and think about determines how you feel and behave. You results stem from those feelings and your actions. If you don’t like your current results, if you aren’t getting what you want, you can make positive changes to turn that around. It is simple.

Your current results are based on your previous thinking which stems from your early childhood conditioning. You are operating mostly on old outdated programs and old, chronic, negative thinking patterns and habits. It’s time for a positive working update!

A Simple Hello Could Lead To A Million Things

It is easy and it also requires effort. You will be changing old habits you have had for awhile BUT you can do it if you give yourself the chance to change. Anything is possible when you learn how. An easy first step is look for things to appreciate. Be grateful. Find them now.

Around you in your present life. No matter how few or how many. Take a daily inventory. This is an excellent way to begin. Read through these blog pages there are many suggestions because that is what this blog is about. Learn to be the you YOU want to be.

Fill your mind with positive, inspiring material some each day. Read a page or a chapter from a good inspirational book. I really like ‘Laws of Success’ and ‘Think And Grow Rich’ among others. Start now and soon you will notice a significant change occurring in you.

Every Experience Is An Opportunity To Learn And Grow

Have fun. Explore, and enjoy all of life’s little blessings. You find can find opportunity everywhere once you open yourself up to it. The best way to do that is to celebrate and enjoy more of life right now, this instant. So delight, have fun, enjoy others and celebrate everything!” Rex Sikes

What will you do with this marvelous new day?

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Horizons photo used with permission of Phil Koch.

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