7/13: BE OPPORTUNISTIC
I had a great couple of days this past weekend. Just a week ago it was slated to be a rather typical weekend, until it turned into something so much more. My daughter had already scheduled a weekend up in Mackinac with her boyfriend to go visit my son on the island. As it turned out, a friend of ours who works on the historical commission was hosting an event at the fort and invited us up, as she had room at the staff quarters on the island for us to stay. Go to Mackinac Island with our daughter and visit our son and stay on the island for free? Yeah, count us in! We decided to surprise our son by not telling him we were coming up, and yes, he was quite surprised to see us when we knocked on his dorm room door.
My wife had more business to address so she stayed up north as I came back with my daughter and her boyfriend. Arriving home, we decided to take the opportunity to take the dogs to the dog park to let them run around after being couped up at home for 3 days. After the dog park we decided to go play tennis for a while, and were completely surprised to see that the HS had completely re-finished the courts since the last time we were there a week ago. After tennis, as we did some food shopping, I saw on Facebook that a college friend who lives in Dallas made a last-minute trip to MI with his family and was having a small gathering. After picking up our truck from the shop, I put my other obligations on hold and headed over to the gathering. What could have been just another typical weekend turned into a great family event at one of Michigan’s greatest parks, individual time with my kids, getting treated to brand new tennis courts, playtime with the dogs, and a surprise visit from a friend I hadn’t seen in about 2 years. But the only reason that any of this happened is I became very opportunistic.
We could have passed on the Island visit. We could have come home and just walked the dogs. We could have plopped down in front of the TV instead of going to play tennis. I could have stayed home instead of visiting my friend when I knew I’d be writing this newsletter now after 10pm. However, I guarantee I will remember the opportunities we took advantage of more than the writing of this newsletter or the chores I put off for another day.
Some opportunities that come at us are big….go to Mackinac Island. Some are small….go to the dog park. But all of them are valuable. (It’s actually pretty cool to see how excited our Beagle gets when we say “Go to the park”, as he absolutely knows what that means and will make a bee-line to the car when he hears the work “park”. So, I guess technically that’s a pretty big opportunity to him.) Big or small, take advantage of as many of those opportunities as you can. Something that might seem small at the time may turn into a memory that lasts a lifetime. Dinner with your spouse. Visiting a friend. A board game with your child. I know I have memories with my parents and my kids that meant the world to me that were white noise to them, but they happened because someone took the opportunity to have an experience.
Be opportunistic in as many aspects of your life as possible. You never know where an opportunity will lead. We all know each other because I took the opportunity to open a business and you took the opportunity to walk in the door. Dare I say we are ALL better for those opportunities we took. My last little bit of advice is this, and it’s something I had learn myself. When you are at a crossroad and questioning an opportunity, you will have many more people telling you why it won’t work. Block those people out and find the people that will tell you why it WILL work, and HOW it will work. Life belongs to those willing to be bold, those willing to be opportunistic. Be that person.
