6 Powerful Steps to Creating Opportunity Every Day

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” – Milton Berle

I’ve always been fascinated with Thomas Edison. When I was a kid, my family and I would visit the Edison & Ford Winter Estates, where we would explore all his inventions, a huge 13 acre garden and my favorite part, his lab. An interesting story that I recall from one of the visits is that Edison’s lab had burnt down in 1914, destroying years’ worth of his work. Most people could have easily described this as the worst thing to happen to Edison, but he chose to see it as an energizing opportunity that forced him to re-examine much of his work. Edison reportedly said at the time “Thank goodness all our mistakes were burnt up. Now we can start again fresh.”

One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone says “I was never given the opportunity…” I feel like  that is a cop out. No one is just given an opportunity – you have to work for it or create it. But then again, every moment of your life is an opportunity – a chance to exploit life. You just have to realize it’s there.

So how do you create that opportunity when faced with a seemingly endless amount of monotony? Here are six awesome tips for winning every day and creating something out of what you’re given. At the end of this, I will provide you with a way to start implementing them today.

1. Create the mindset. You have to want opportunity. The way we perceive a situation has a tremendous power to either help or harm us. In the book The Secret, there’s a concept that when you think intently about something, the Universe aligns to see that it comes to fruition.

Although the Universe may not align, having the mindset that something you want will happen puts things in place that enable the outcome to occur. You will try harder because the idea is always on your mind. You will talk with people about your idea and doors will open that may not have been opened before.

2. Accept that change is inevitable – Everything in life changes, and every time this happens, it’s an opportunity waiting for you to take advantage of it. Humans instantly resist change because it feels uncomfortable. In contrast, we should embrace and run with that uncomfortableness. Think how it can be used to your advantage.

3. Gravitate towards what you don’t know – We naturally gravitate towards what we know but I challenge you to try the reverse. Gravitating towards what you don’t know will create opportunities you never would have even considered.

I feel like I’ve learned to embrace what I don’t know (which is a lot of things!) If I hadn’t, I would have never challenged the Standard American Diet and found an alternative, healthier route – one that’s led me to be in the best shape of my life.

4. Believe you are in control of your life and all the choices you make – Perception is reality.  You cannot choose what happens to you but you can choose how you react.  If you wake up in the morning with an attitude of gloom, I guarantee your entire day will be gloomy. If you wake up knowing good things are headed your way (ignore what your horoscope said), your perception of positivity will make that cup of coffee taste better along with everything else.

There are certain things you have no control over, outside of the choices you make. To create opportunity, you have to realize that there is nothing you can do, make the best of it, and move on. Don’t allow it to upset or frustrate you.

Show up no matter what, get results no matter what, don’t find excuses as to why you can’t do something, find out how you can and make it happen. Don’t let someone else’s inadequacies derail you from what you are trying to achieve. You are in control.

This will not only create opportunity for you, it may also contribute to a longer life. According to a new study by Brandeis University and the University of Rochester, people who feel in control and believe they can achieve goals despite hardships are more likely to live longer and healthier lives, especially among those with less education.

5. Realize failure is opportunity – An opportunity to learn, get better and to grow. Don’t let failure stop you; let it move you forward because you will fail (I have many times). As Seth Godin puts it, “If you’ve chosen well, after you fail you will be one step closer to succeeding, you will be wiser and stronger and you almost certainly will be more respected by all of those that are afraid to try.”  And when you do fail…

6. Have a Plan B and C – Ramit Sethi of I Will Teach You To Be Rich says “The key is not to try to avoid failure all the time. It’s to actually build in a process to handle that inevitable failure.” Coming up with a creative back-up plan to have in your pocket will enable you to keep going even when confronted with failure. One door closes, a new door opens.

The picture at the top is Taneen and I looking at Half Dome in Yosemite. We made it a goal that we would hike to the top while we were living in California. We took a class on hiking Half Dome, spoke with people about it, and put together a group of friends who wanted to hike it too (all were native to Northern CA but had never done it before…weird?). We did everything we could to make it a reality.  We created that opportunity and made it happen.

Don’t let those opportunities that you see every day pass you by. Don’t let them turn into regrets or what-ifs instead of opportunities.

Books to check out: Learned Optimism by Martin E. P. Seligman and Wabi Sabi by Leonard Koren

TAKEAWAY: Create opportunity, don’t wait for it.

START DOING IT NOW: For the next 7 days, meditate every morning for 5 minutes. Check in with your why – what’s your purpose and how are you going to get closer to achieving it and visualize yourself in your ideal state…kicking ass and winning. Then, focus on what you are grateful for.

QUESTION: What door are you going to build today? How do you create opportunity?