A Philosophic Guide to 'Opportunities' - Do They Really Come and Go?

After visiting an exquisite American diner for athrough the tips of our fingers today - rather than
scrumptious lunch with an associate on a recentsee it as a lost cause - only puts us in good stead
trip to New York I had a somewhat unusualand a better state of mental preparedness to
experience which made me ponder deeply (It'spounce on the very next opportunity standing by.
what philosophers do right?) over some of theAnd without resorting to a gross exaggeration of
everyday notions we live by in contemporarythe facts, history is awash with biographies of
society.men and women who lost millions - in monetary
Myself and Chris - my friend and associate on theterms - they had either inherited or earned
trip - had just stepped out of this restaurantthrough their sweat (or sometimes even won, no
somewhere in Manhattan, with my tourist gazethanks to the national lottery!) only to - through
still trapped in the wonderment of theresilience, sheer guts and determination - bounce
architectural magnificence of the one hundred andthemselves back into the same financial position
eight year old 'Flatiron Building' located at 175 Fifththey once were, albeit this time, the hard way.
Avenue, when all of a sudden I got a strange tapThe beauty of regaining a previously missed
on my left shoulder with an energetic vocalopportunity is not only the sense of fulfilment and
assertion '' Hey brother man, we gotta seize thatappreciation derived from getting a second shot
opportunity.. once its gone, we sure as hell ain'tbut the fact that the joy of victory and success
never gon' get it back!''. For a minute I thoughtthe second time round is unparalleled. In order to
my friend and I had trespassed on a Spike Leeattain this goal, our minds need to perceive
movie set on hearing this because whilst thismissed opportunities only as temporary setbacks
individual's dress code, appearance and demeanourand not failures; not something, which when 'lost',
was reminiscent of that of a Black Pantherscan never be 'regained'.
activist of the American civil rights era, his afroOpportunities, no matter what we do or fail to do
hair style was straight out of the original line up ofwill always be in existence everywhere around us
the world famous Harlem Globetrotters basketballfor the impeccable reason that the concept of an
team of the 1960's to 70's era. Whilst my mouthopportunity is a phenomenon like no other. Unlike
was still slightly agape - perhaps wondering if tosunshine and rain; sunrise and sunset, to even light
tell my 'Fight The Power' friend I was the wrongand darkness, which all come one minute and
guy for this he immediately squeezed a leaflet indisappear the next, opportunities will always be
my hand without letting me speak and 'zoom!'.. hethere. Because very much unlike these natural
was off, obviously to accost his next passerby.phenomena listed the existence and role of
Reading through the literature he handed me, Iopportunities in our lives is much more comparable
realised he was part of an African American sectto the existence of oxygen in our atmosphere.
in New York whose vision is to see a blackBy this, what I mean is that even though our
candidate elected as the next Mayor of the citylevel of oxygen intake - as some people, perhaps
(Judging by my experience that day I'm not sureowing to health issues, may find it a struggle to
if Michael Bloomberg - the incumbent Mayor -breathe easily - varies it does not in any way,
should really watch his back). However, whatshape or form mean the amount of oxygen in
really struck me the most about that afternoon'sthe air has decreased for some and increased for
experience was what I read on the leaflet; itsothers; opportunities don't come one minute and
very bold caption: '' BROTHERS AND SISTERS,evaporate the next, as it is constantly there for
LET'S SEIZE OUR OPPORTUNITY NOW ORus to either explore it or ignore it. So then comes
ELSE!!''the million dollar question thrown at me many a
With respect to opportunities, I sometimes findtime during my motivational coaching sessions on
the role our notions and beliefs system play in ourthe topic of 'Opportunities': So why do some
approach to coping with missed opportunities andpeople seem to have more opportunities in life
setbacks significantly pessimistic. Growing up fromthan some unfortunate others? Surely, there
my childhood, adolescence, and right through tomust be an imbalance in the supply of
my teen years, I cannot overemphasise howopportunities in the earth's atmosphere??
often I've been subjected to hearing a particularLadies and gentlemen, let it be understood that
maxim; one which I'm sure you've heard as well:the opportunities in our atmosphere is colour-blind,
'An opportunity once lost can never be regained.'race-blind and non-prejudiced; it does and will
No doubt this statement, as an adage or proverbnever take into account one man or woman being
- like many others - serves a unique purpose as aCaucasian, whilst others being Asian and Africans.
didactic and educational tool for stirring ourCandidly speaking, there is equal amount of
consciousness in the wake of occasional oropportunity out there for every each one of us if
constant inertia and complacency, it howeveronly we are willing to leave our comfort zones,
remains to be seen if having anapply ourselves and seize the initiative. Another
'opportunity-missed-is-gone-forever' rhetoric in ourone of the many wonderful features of
heads and minds day in day out is ideal as aopportunities in addition to its omnipresent quality
self-motivational tool for getting things right theis the fact that even when we seem to have 'run
next time with a body language which has an airout' of opportunities, the potentials to create
of resignation all over it.more and more of it is hardly ever lacking. Stay
To the contrary, any opportunity that slipsblessed!