Do You See The Opportunities Around You?

All you need to do is look

When I was a high school teacher, I had challenges with the arrangement of the desks and chairs.

No matter how I arranged the classroom, some students would end up in the back of the class — furthest away from my desk. Even if the students were arranged in a circular manner, some students would still be further away from me and the whiteboard.

As a result, every new school year, students would try to find a seat nearest to where they see my desk. One year, a particular student — we’ll call her Susan — was not so fortunate. By the time she got to our first class, she was one of the students furthest away from me.

I could tell that she was upset even though she said nothing.

As if to make a statement about her annoyance, she moved her desk and chair to the extreme back of the class and sat by herself; away from everyone else.

I watched her. Shortly after, I asked her to return to sit with the rest of the class. She reluctantly returned the desk and chair to the original position and sat down.

Spending energy moving her desk and chair back and forth had taken some of the upset feelings out of her, but not all.

So, I asked, “Susan, why didn’t you move your desk and chair to the front of the classroom instead of moving it away from everyone?”

Her response was swift. “Ms. Dacres,” she replied. “All the seats at the front are taken. There is nowhere for me to go.”

What opportunities are we missing?

After hearing this, I asked the class for silence and then I asked her to repeat exactly what she just said.

Feeling somewhat self-conscious now, she half-heartedly repeated: “All the seats in the front are taken. There is nowhere for me to go”.

I looked around the class and at all my students. I knew there was a critical message here for all of us, including me.

So, I showed her all the available spaces she could put her desk and chair so that she could be closer to me and the board.

She could have put her desk right next to mine, she could have put her desk in between other students who were already at the front of the class, there were many options.

All she had to do was to move into those positions or communicate the issue she was facing and ask for help. It would have been okay with me.

There is enough for all of us

How many of us live our lives like this?

We believe that all the good things in life are already taken. There is none left for us.

The truth of the matter is that while there are people in positions that we want to be in, it doesn’t mean we are locked out. If someone has millions of dollars and a house by the beach, it does not mean that there is none for me and you.

We just need to open our eyes and look around. There are available positions and opportunities everywhere. Sometimes we need to move into them or at a minimum, try and see what happens. We cannot wait for the positions to move to us. We need to go out and make it happen.

On that note, about a week later, two former students stopped by to see me. They had recently graduated but had not gone to college. They had started a business cleaning windows and the exteriors of roofs.

Will it work?

I don’t know and neither do they.

But they are not sitting around waiting for somebody to do something for them. They are trying to make something happen for themselves. They are trying to slot themselves into any open positions.

The truth of the matter is that there are already companies carrying out the same business that these two young men are trying to do. They could choose to focus on that fact, or they can choose to see the available gaps in the market and fill those. They are choosing to focus on the latter.

Create your own opportunities

Waiting for opportunities to be handed to you is a passive approach that limits your potential, and it is a risky proposition. Instead, taking charge of your destiny and actively creating opportunities is the key to success and personal fulfillment.

Whether in your professional or personal life, the willingness to seize control and create your own path can lead to remarkable outcomes.

So, take some time today to look around you. What do you see?