Preparation Meets Opportunity

Hello Friends,

I hope you are all doing well. Our daily quote comes from Confucius. He was a Chinese philosopher who was know for speaking about personal and governmental morality. He focused on the correctness of social relationships, justice, and sincerity. We can take a lot from what this great philosopher had to teach us and apply it to our own lives. Here's one...

"Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure."

This quote is so true in respect to my own personal experience. One exercise that all motivational speakers and others tell you do as a prelude to success is to set goals and to actually write them down. This has always been hard for me. Sometimes when I sit down to write them I know what I want but don't know how to get there.

Setting realistic goals starts you on the right track to success. As you set goals and achieve these goals, you are actually preparing yourself for when you reach your ultimate goal. Each step in the process brings you closer, makes you wiser, and brings a sense of confidence that one should have when fulfilling a dream.

Some of us look at successful people and say that they just got lucky and fell into a good opportunity. I don't believe in luck anymore. Luck is nothing more than preparation and opportunity come together.

For example, some people say that a lot of the amazing shots that Michael Jordan made were luck. You know the layups where he's off balance, not facing the basket, about to fall into the crowd type shots. The truth of the matter is that Jordan was a gym rat. He was always practicing. That is what set him apart from other players. He would actually practice those shots. He would practice shooting from awkward positions. He knew that if he practiced this as well as regular fundamentals, when the opportunity called for a spectacular play, he was prepared, not lucky.

Such is with our lives. We should be constantly practicing for success. Like Jordan we should try never to have an "off" day. We should always strive for the knowledge that will take us to where we want to go, so when the opportunity comes instinctively we can "take the shot."

Thank you for listening. Now tell me "In Your Own Words."