No Time Lost Enterprises Presents

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

http://members5.boardhost.com/SuccessManiacs

Opportunity Knocks. Will You Answer?

Presenting the Opportunity Knocks EZine

Produced by

Tim Johnson
and
No Time Lost Enterprises

Volume 1, Issue 2
March 5, 2001

Welcome to the OK-EZine! Presented here are ideas, concepts, strategies and tactics for those ready to embrace the New, the Daring and the Possibilities.

Feedback is always welcome. Please send all comments to timj@notimelost.com. Positive and Negative are welcome.

Who are three people who would like to read this EZine? Please pass this EZine along to them. If you have received it from a friend, formal subscribe and unsubscribe information is at the end of the message.

CONTENTS:

1.) Recommended Resource
2.) Main Article
3.) Advertising Info
4.) Subscribe/Unsubscribe Info

1.) Recommended Resource - Success Through A Positive

Mental Attitude by Napolean Hill and W. Clement Stone. Success Through a PMA is the second book you should read on your road of self-development. It is a great follow-up to Think and Grow Rich. It covers what a PMA is and how to develop it. It is accessible and more readable that Think and Grow Rich. Don't miss it!

Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude

2.) Main Article - Where Are All the Opportunities?

Last week we talked about what opportunities are. This week we are going to talk about where you can find opportunities.

First thing I have to ask you is this: Is your heart and your mind open?

Now why did I ask that? Hmmmn.

Well, an open mind should be obvious. You need to be willing to not pre-judge things and people to be able to find an opportunity. It’s that simple. Don’t pre-judge. You never know when someone will come into your life that will offer you something or have something that will help you. You never know when a piece of information will come to you that is that missing ingredient.

The open heart refers to your own. Are you ready for opportunity? Not everyone is. If they were, the world would be a far different place! Are you ready to act? Are you ready to see yourself taking advantage of an opportunity or are you still paralyzed with fear and indecision?

This past weekend I was in Nashville for a training seminar. A woman I met owns a video production company with her husband and saw the cover I created for the training tape set. Turns out she is looking for someone to design video cases for their company. While I haven’t been pursuing graphics projects for some time, I am always open to new projects. So, we exchanged information and will be in touch about doing some sample work.

One of the speakers talked at the end of the second day about motivation and opportunity. Wow, he was good! What he had to say and how he said it were really inspiring. So, we talked about the website and he promised to look at it. Tomorrow, I will be calling him to see if there is something we can do together.

Even though I was there for training, I made two contacts with people I had never met before that may mean more money or a better website at notimelost.com. It was because I had an open mind and an open heart. I was open to talking to these people, and I was able to see myself working with them, before we even talked. That is having an open mind and an open heart.

A quick note here: I am not just referring to business opportunities. Opportunities can be for relationships, learning, career, where you live, what you drive, what you where, who your friends are and even what you think.

So, now that we have an open mind and an open heart, where ARE the opportunities?

Everywhere.

Huh? That’s it?

Yep. Everywhere. Look at the paragraph that started with “A quick note here:” That describes an awful lot of types of opportunities isn’t it? So, with all those types, doesn’t it follow that they are everywhere?

Click. (The sound of a light bulb going on.)

So if the definition of an opportunity is that broad, then why don’t we see them?

Closed mind and closed heart.

If your mind and heart are truly open, you may need practice at seeing that’s all. It takes some thinking outside the box to recognize an opportunity. It really does. Thinking outside the box involves turning ideas on their heads. It involves asking “What if?” It means you have to realize that you are probably insane.

Now wait a minute, Johnson! Aren’t you getting a little PERSONAL!?

Not clinically. Insanity can be defined as doing the same things over and over while expecting different results. How long have you been driving to work on your current route? When was the last time you turned off the TV for an entire day? When was the last time you went to eat at a new restaurant?

Doing things differently helps get your mind open. When you do the same old same old EVERY SINGLE DAY, do you take much notice of the things around you? Think hard. How often have you totally zoned out on your drive home. You went on autopilot and didn’t come out of it until you pulled in the driveway. And for the life of you, you cannot remember anything about the trip.

So, to help see the opportunities we need to get out of our daily routines. Let’s open our minds up a little bit here and there. Observe what goes on around you. I am giving you a little homework this week.

1. Take a different route on the drive home this week. Try to do a different one each day if possible. It doesn’t have to be totally different and you don’t have to go out your way to do it. Just different.

2. Turn off the TV this week. I CHALLENGE you to unplug the darned thing! I understand that may be pretty difficult. So, at the minimum, I want you to turn it off all day for 2 days. They can be consecutive or non-consecutive. You need to ignore the box when you are there. I suggest a Saturday or a Sunday for one of the days.

3. Get up a half hour earlier than you normally do. This, I know, will be the hardest one. It may mean going to bed earlier. It may mean not hitting the snooze alarm 12 times. It may mean more than you can realize just yet. With that half hour, I want you to read for at least 15 minutes in Think and Grow Rich or Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude or whatever your favorite non-fiction book may be. Preferably a motivational one. For the other 15 minutes I want you to plan your day. Make a list of things you need to at work and at home. Prioritize them and do them. Follow this for the entire week and email me the results!

Next week we will talk about opening the heart to be ready for opportunities.

Thanks and God Bless!

Tim Johnson
timj@notimelost.com