Opportunities Have a Shelf Life
David Freund

While attending a Maxwell Leadership conference in Orlando, I heard a statement that really impacted me:

“The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized in the lifetime of the opportunity.”

Like many of you, I’ve been blessed to grow up in what I believe is the greatest country on earth — a country that has achieved incredible success in a relatively short period of time. Celebrating our nation’s 250th anniversary has left me often reflecting on the blessings of being an American. Not that we’re perfect and not that there aren’t areas where we need to improve – but it’s clear, opportunity abounds.

I know plenty of naysayers are quick to point out what’s wrong with our country, and at some point, I may write about the phrase our Founding Fathers used in the preamble to our Constitution: “to form a more perfect Union.” But not today. Today, I want to focus on opportunity.

The quote I referenced at the beginning recognizes that opportunities of a lifetime really do exist. These opportunities are often rare and may come along only once — hence the phrase opportunity of a lifetime. Now here’s the sobering reality: opportunities have a shelf life. At some point, the opportunity is gone. Perhaps the need has passed. Perhaps circumstances have changed. Or perhaps someone else saw the opportunity and seized it before we did.

So why do we miss opportunities?

Perhaps we suffer from limited thinking. We aren’t spending enough time asking the right kinds of questions. When things are going well, we ask, Why change? or Why look for a better way? Maybe we’re not spending enough time with big thinkers — people who look at what could be and ask, “Why not?” rather than, “Why?”

Albert Einstein is often credited with the idea that in the midst of difficulty lies opportunity. Whether in business, leadership, or life, difficult circumstances can create opportunities for people and organizations willing to recognize them.

Think about what happened during the global pandemic. Almost overnight, the way we worked, communicated, learned, and met together changed. Video conferencing went from a useful business tool to an essential one. Companies such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams were positioned to respond rapidly to a dramatically changing environment. The crisis created a need, and that need created an opportunity.

If we truly want to capitalize on the opportunities around us, we first need to see them — and then be willing to seize them.

Legendary basketball coach John Wooden captured this idea well: “When opportunity comes, it’s too late to prepare.” Preparation must come first.

We must continually grow and develop our skills, so we’re prepared for an exciting, opportunity-filled tomorrow. We need to spend time with people who think outside the box and ask why not instead of why. We need people around us who see possibilities rather than problems and who challenge us to think bigger than we currently think.

And lastly, stop waiting until you see the entire journey before you act. Sometimes we miss an opportunity because we want certainty before taking the first step. We want to know exactly where the road will lead before we begin walking. But opportunity rarely works that way. Take the next step. Then take the next one. And then another. Before long, clarity will begin to come.

The opportunity of a lifetime may already be in front of you. The question is not simply whether you can see it. The question is: Will you seize it while it is still available?