MOVE – Maximize Opportunity Very Early
How many times have you heard about people miss their flight simply because they departed for the airport a little later than they ought to? I recall the dreadful experience of the first time I missed my flight; it wasn’t fun at all. The airport was just about 35 minutes from my house, so I thought I would leave the house about 55 minutes before the flight. I mean why the rush? I had already checked in online and it was a local flight on a supposedly light travel weekday. I thought I had it all figured out, but I was wrong. Few minutes into my onward drive towards the airport, I started to see police cars everywhere, creating detours that I hadn’t planned for. To cut the long story short, the door was already shut by the time I got to the departure gate. I was only about 5 minutes late, but the door was already shut. I can’t begin to describe how I hated myself for this on that day.
It is common to see people gridlocked in action-paralysis when they truly desire to pursue their goal. Some call it a spirit of procrastination, while others call it fear of the unknown. What do you call it? I mean that thing that keeps you in a state of inertia when you know you should get going on your mission. It’s raining out there you say, and you may have a million reasons to keep on analyzing the weather, but for how long will you do that?
There is the time to plan, but more importantly, there is the time to move with the plan. And guess what? Plans don’t have to be perfect at first. You don’t achieve perfection in a flash; perfection is not a destination, it is a journey. Imagine the Facebook we got from Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 compared to the version we have today. There is never a perfect picture at the beginning; perfection happens along the way as you apply lessons learned. The key word here is to apply lessons learned, otherwise, you may think you are moving, but you are in fact in a meaningless loop.
Now let’s talk about opportunity for a minute! Are you locked up in the idea that there are no opportunities around you? Or do you just believe that there are giants already in the field, hence the notion that you get nothing even if you make the move? Yahoo started in 1994, but Google that got started a few years later was not deterred by the fact that Yahoo was already on the scene. Don’t also forget that Facebook was already in business before Twitter came on the scene. The list goes on and on. There will always be giants in the field, but you must not allow that to keep you paralyzed. Why don’t you make someone else’s progress as a motivation and a trigger for yours?
I define M.O.V.E as Maximize Opportunity Very Early. The truth is that opportunity is neither your friend nor your enemy, you decide what you want opportunity to be to you. Opportunity is time-bound, and it waits for no one. Most importantly, opportunity leaves you with a memory, whether you took advantage of it or not. I had every opportunity to depart for the airport early on the day I missed my flight, but I lingered, convincing myself that there was still enough time. I was wrong. You see, the memory you retain is predicated on your action or inaction when opportunity was crossing your path. Can you afford to live with pains of regret for not at least trying? Trust me, it is an awful mixed feeling when you see your ideas flying out there but in the embrace of someone else who made the move when you failed to.
I challenge you today to break the grip of lethargy that has paralyzed you and held you back from moving. There is an opportunity waiting out there for every dream you have, and you must make the move to maximize what you are presented with. I mentioned earlier that opportunity is neither your friend nor your enemy, let me also add that that opportunity can make or mar you, it can crush or cruise you. But how, you ask? Let’s find out in the next series.
Olu Efunwoye
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December 2, 2017