“There is a tide in the affairs of men/ Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune/ Omitted, all the voyage of life is bound in shallows and miseries....” These immortal lines written by William Shakespeare in his play, Julius Caesar, indicate the necessity of making optimum use of opportunities in time and thus, striking when the iron is hot.
Individuals should keep their antennae alert to “sniff” out opportunities when they present themselves and use them judiciously and adroitly. This is because opportunities don’t arise often and it makes for pretty dismal reading should one lose the opportunity due to carelessness or lack of shrewd judgment.
Indeed, “making hay while the sun shines” can dramatically alter the course of one’s life, for it could lead one “on to fortune”. Conversely, inability to identify an opportunity and make full use of it can affect one drastically. It is definitely in one’s best interest that one is advised to always play one’s cards wisely and well.
Doing so, however, is not everyone’s cup of tea, for there are some idealistic intellectuals who are almost incapable of capitalising on opportunities. It requires a certain modicum of street-smartness to subtly identify an opportunity and use it to one’s advantage.
The persons who are spot on in judiciously availing of opportunities may not necessarily be brilliant go-getters nor even excessively talented. Yet, this class of persons is able to garner success as they forge ahead in a ‘do or die’ manner, very much akin to the slogan `it’s now or never’.
One chief reason why opportunities are missed is because, as one writer put it, “They are dressed in over-alls and look like work.” Hence, lethargic, laid-back individuals lose chances because they want the easy way by using what they deem as effortless short-cuts.
They strive to have grandiose lifestyles wanting to retrieve the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow without having to sweat for it. They don’t realise that God’s plan may be to test how many people have the gumption to go the extra mile to single out and crystallise a useful opportunity.
Indeed, success and consequently happiness go to those who identify the opportunity and work diligently and tirelessly for its fruition.
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