op⋅por⋅tu⋅ni⋅ty

-noun, plural -ties.

From time to time, I go through phases where I question certain topics a great deal. Opportunity is one of those “subjects” which I constantly talk about. I question opportunities available to everyone, and how people can, do and don’t capitalise what is available to them. There are a lot of issues which I think about at the moment, and they somehow seem to link themself to opportunity.

I was thinking about one of my earliest memories recently. My junior school was located miles into the desert. My daily journey started at 0630 am, when I was the first person to board the bus. It was late 1988, I had turned 6, and I couldn’t miss the school bus in the morning. There was no alternative transportation, so it’s fair to say – there was no pressure on me to sort myself out everyday morning to get to school, a journey which took almost an hour and a half each way. Did I mention that it gets hot in the desert? So when I had the opportunity in 1994 to join a school within the city limits, I grabbed that opportunity. I was 12, and as much as I loved my friends, I had that instinctive desire to change my current situation; one which I obviously didn’t enjoy. Somehow, I’d like to think that I grabbed my opportunity at that young age; ofcourse my parents made some decisions, but I was actually given a choice of where I wanted to go. I think I chose wisely.

Fast forward a few years, I had graduated from university, and I had 2 job offers on the table. One was from a Japanese-German IT vendor, and the other was from a small Swiss-Pakistani bank. I chose the smaller company because the opportunity to learn and establish myself was far greater here; I knew I could somehow learn more, and since moving on from there, I know that it was an opportunity well utilised.

Those are 2 examples, from my life, of opportunities which I was presented with, and how I took them. But that’s not what I wanted to talk about in this post. I want to talk about the opportunites which affect others. Opportunities which affect my friends, and some which affect people who I work with. Why?…. Well, I believe in sharing the love, sharing experience, learning from others, and try and help others learn from what I have been through myself. It’s my way of contributing to life.

So where do I start? Well, how about with someone who was very close to me. The question I always asked you was why did you fight against opportunities which would help broaden your horizon, help you achieve your dreams, improve your lifestyle to how you always wanted it to be?

I wonder if the current ceasefire in Gaza is an opportunity for everyone worldwide to put in that little effort in helping raise awareness of the conflict in the region, and to try and help people on both sides to accept each other and try and live in peace.

With the current global financial crisis, can we do something simple like help people all around the world have access to clean water? We have the opportunity to help those in need, and anything we do – small or large, is a great enough contribution.

Sometimes, we wish for opportunities, dream about these, but they seem so hard to come by. Such is the situation of a friend of mine. As hard as she is working, hoping, and improving herself, the lack of a single and simple opportunity is holding her back from achieving a dream.

But then there are others who have the opportunities but just do not want to recognise it… as clearly as you stick it in front of their face.

In the company where I currently work, I have an idea of what it takes to move up the ladder; it’s something which I have done effectively, and would love it if I could help others achieve as well.There are a couple of guys at work who show promise from time to time; this was recognised early by the people who can influence or make decisions. However, the one thing lacking at work is the guidance or motivation on how you can jump up a level; sometimes this is required for people of my age.

The issue with these people isn’t the fact that there isn’t anyone trying to push them, a bunch of us actually want them to step up to the plate and raise their game, perform confidently and consistently above their comfort level, essentially prove to the company that they can consistently bring their “A-game” to the show and seize that opportunity to climb up a level. But it seems that they “don’t want to”; that they are “happy” with what they have. I know its a strong statement to make, but there is no other way of explaining their behaviour. A number of you readers work, some of you in large organizations, and others in not so big ones; so I guess you will understand essence of grabbing the opportunity when you ae presented with it in a work environment. Is it fair to complain about your job if you don’t want to step out of your comfort zone?

Forget about a job, is it fair to complain or object to anything in life if you don’t want to cross a barrier based on your own decisions? How do you move forward in life without taking the next step?

I don’t know about others, but I believe that when you are younger, you have a greater opportunity to do things, to achieve things compared to later on in life. I hope it isn’t a naive view, but as a 26 year old I feel that I have a reasonably mature view of how life turned out over the last 10 years, and how it could go in the next 10. Stepping up to the plate to face the music if not what everyone is cut out to do. Every person paces their life differently, and achievements come at different stages in each ones life. But one thing which will constantly appear in life is opportunity. It wont appear only once…. opportunities will knock your door on a daily basis…..

What is important to know is – will you see an opportunity when it comes, and then will you have the strength to grab it with both hands?

This post is dedicated to each end everyone of you – especially the younger readers….