Do You Take Advantage of Opportunities or Do You Wait for Them to Come to You?

Lately, I am finding opportunities coming my way; it is where they are coming from that is surprising me and I believe may help you as well.  Often, when we are driven to achieve and accomplish, we go in action mode in order to succeed.  We move along and follow steps that all the “gurus’ tell us to do.  In doing so, we can miss, or not take advantage of, opportunities that can lead us to clients or to more success.  I’m not suggesting that you ignore the teachings of these experts; what I’m encouraging you to do is to open your eyes, put aside your fears, and go after opportunities that are in front of you.

I will admit that I believe that is how I used to operate; read, learn, follow the advice of mentors who were to help me in building my business.   But what I’ve come to realize is that a lot of my successes were the result of my actions and taking advantage of opportunities as they came along:

• signing up to write articles for a book; I am the co-author in a soon-to-be released (June 15th) book, titled “Contagious Optimism,”  http://www.lifecarrots.com.  I found this opportunity in one of my LinkedIn groups and decided to go for it; I have written for volumes I & II and have passed on this opportunity to my peers as well as some of my clients.
• becoming a sponsor for the World Executive and Business Coaching Summit, which is a global educational series.  I was first contacted by them as they liked this blog; they felt my content aligned with their audience and they invited me for the sponsorship, which led to a joint-venture and income from promoting the event.
• adding my name to several speaking and writing opportunities, which have included  local networking groups, professional associations, a conference, and several online publications, such as Forbes Woman and The Work at Home Woman.  Each of these has allowed me to reach my target audience and has led to connections, clients and revenue.

If I had continued on doing what others do, I don’t think I would have found these opportunities.  It was only by being aware and then leaping towards offerings I found that has led to these successes, among others.  If you are waiting for opportunities to come to you, then you will be waiting and your business (or your career) will be stalled.  Only by being open and then fearless will you recognize opportunities standing in front of you and then be willing to embrace them, which will lead to you more success.  What opportunities have you ignored or felt fearful in responding to?  Would love to hear your thoughts!