By Murli Chari
This adage is very profound and immensely beneficial as most of us dismiss a small opportunity of very little consequence. A wise man makes the most of whatever opportunity that comes his way. The more we seize the opportunity the more we are showered with. There is a famous quote by Thomas Edison in this context “opportunities come in work overalls” and that is the reason most of us are reluctant to grab them. There are replete examples of nations and individuals seizing the opportunity which may look very small. Usually, opportunities look small when they appear and look big when they vanish. After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War Japan seized the available opportunity and emerged as a very enviable economic power. Singapore and India got freedom just about the same time but Singapore took to a free economy and has reached the apogee of glory. Even China, which was afflicted with the scourge of poverty and illiteracy, opened its state-owned economy to a free economy to some extent and alleviated a lot of millions. Now, its clout is incomparable and it's economy a force to reckon with. India is also seizing the opportunities in emerging technologies like green technology and digital technology. India has emerged as Numero Uno in digital currency transactions. There are legions of individuals like Bill Gates who took advantage of the space for software development with the purpose of putting computers in every home has become a trailblazer. Jeff Becoz brilliantly seized the opening in e-commerce thereby making a global presence. This has not only helped him personally but millions of us. Elon Musk created a niche where none existed thanks mainly due to taking advantage of the sliver of a chance. Dr. Abdul Kalam an illustrious scientist erudite scholar and human being par excellence seized every opportunity that came his way benefitting India more than him. Jamshedji Tata, Birla, Bajaj, Ambani, Azim Premji, Narayan Murthy revered the smallest opportunity to build a huge empire creating wealth for themselves and millions of others through millions of jobs and revenue for the government. In addition, they have done a lot of philanthropy.
We, most of us, think more opportunities will arise in the future. On the contrary, the more we seize our opportunities the more we are showered with. We never know which opportunity small or big will be a million-dollar bagger. One more rationale behind latching up the opportunity is that we develop the uncanny knack to identify the big opportunity. Once we develop the habit of riding the pony we will ride the Arabian horse. Once we act upon the tiny opportunity the momentum gathers and suddenly we find that we are sailing on the ocean. Thomas Edison seized every opportunity and relentlessly pursued them resulting in breathtaking results. It is making the hay while the sun shines that made him a genius. He had the most number of registered patents. His one invention electric bulb has changed the very face of the world. Seizing a modicum of opportunity, not only benefits the person but millions of others. Our human history is a glaring example of how seizing a sliver of a chance has led to phenomenal growth and development.
Life is all about experimentation. Seizing the opportunity whether it leads to success or failure leads to great lessons. The fear of failure is the single most factor stopping us from seizing the opportunity. Once we show temerity the results no longer bother us when we latch on to the opportunity. The chasm between those who succeed and those who fail is due to reluctance to take action on the opportunity. Most of us squander our time, energy, and money waiting for the big opportunity and neglecting the smaller ones. Millions prefer to live mediocre lives simply because we ignore the small opportunities coming our way. The rarest few who make the hay while the sun shines are head and shoulders above the rest. The universe offers every one of us many opportunities but only a few take advantage of those.
We need to create a global culture of making the most of opportunities either big or small.
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