When
opportunity knocks, will you answer the door ... and hold it open for others?
People sometimes ask me when I plan
to retire. They seem to think that I “deserve” to take it easy and put my feet
up at this stage in my life. Maybe they believe retirement is a prize you win at the end of a
long and healthy career.
The truth is that I can’t imagine
retirement. My prize is finding more ways to impact others. It’s a good
thing, too, because the possibilities keep coming. There’s a phenomenon I call
“success momentum”—the ability to see an opportunity, seize it, capitalize on
the success and then jump at the next chance.
Here’s a good way to think about
life: Picture yourself walking through a maze. You’ll test all sorts of doors,
some of which might take you to new and interesting avenues, some of which
might dead-end. If you just keep opening doors and moving forward, eventually
you will arrive someplace worthwhile.
You can build success momentum, too.
The open doors of opportunity are all around you, but they won’t do you much
good unless you learn to see them and recognize when to walk through them.
Let’s consider how you can align yourself with the opportunities coming your
way, and open doors for yourself.
• Keep walking. On your journey, you won’t find lights illuminating your
path or signs stating that your destination nears. You could be on the verge of
success and not even know it. Push forward! Perseverance pays. Most people
don’t get to the open door because they don’t walk far enough. As Norman
Vincent Peale said, “It’s always too early to quit!”
• Keep searching. Try new things. Watch to see what works for others.
• Keep clarifying. It is easy to miss an opportunity if you don’t know what
you are looking for. The most successful people wake up each morning with a
clear sense of what they want to create in their lives. That clarity of purpose makes it easy to identify a
good opportunity.
• Keep working. As Thomas Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by
most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” I love
that! Nothing worthwhile in life comes free. If you want bigger and better
things, you have to be willing to work for them.
• Keep opening. Too many people get to one door, go through it, and say,
“Whew!” They don’t realize that taste of success is really just a nibble. The
only advantage of going through the first door is that it leads to a second
door. A dozen doors later you are really starting to experience success.
Once you conquer the maze, you can
turn around and guide others. To me, that is the highest form of success. I
enjoy maximizing my own opportunities, but I find more satisfaction in helping
others grow and achieve. Here are four ways you can become a mentor who opens
doors for people to reach their own potential:
• Push them to grow. How often have you known people with remarkable gifts but
no idea how to tap into them? Sometimes people don’t recognize their potential
until someone points it out. Be that motivator. Help your colleagues identify
their strengths, hone their talents and recognize their capabilities. It’s the
greatest gift you can give.
• Be open to their questions. Let others gain from your wisdom and experience. Good
leaders are accessible to their top performers and take time to answer their questions.
Your wins and losses can be a gold mine for developing leaders. When you share
how you think, your people gain insight that makes them productive beyond their
personal experience.
• Give them chances to change. Are your people innovative? Do they like to develop new ideas?
Give people ownership and allow them to problem-solve, create new products, or
interview new team members. When people contribute to meaningful change, they
feel pride in the organization’s success and responsibility for it.
• Provide opportunities for them to
win. Momentum is a leader’s best friend.
Your team needs regular opportunities to win together. I like to
encourage friendly competition among my team. I offer incentives based on
measurable results and watch my people push each other to victory. It’s a fun
way to improve performance, increase profits and build team unity.
Opening doors for yourself and
others builds a culture that celebrates growth, change and risk-taking. Opportunity-seeking
can, in fact, become a habit. Tell your team members to be on the lookout for
opportunities to improve themselves, the team and the company. Ask people to
look at your processes, products and procedures with fresh eyes.
By doing so, you’ll take your
business to a whole new level. You may find that team members begin to come to
you with their new ideas and opportunities. When you communicate that you
value, appreciate and implement good ideas from any source, you set your team
up for success and encourage individual contributions.
Author Orison Swett Marden once
said, “Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and
make them great. Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them.” That
is great advice. Start opening doors and never stop. Life is full of
opportunity for those who are willing to look for it.
