Opportunity Knocks. Will You Answer?
Presenting the Opportunity Knocks EZine

Produced by

Tim Johnson
and
No Time Lost Enterprises

Volume 1, Issue 7
April 9, 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.) Power Thought
2.) Recommended Resource
3.) Main Article
4.) Advertising Info
5.) Subscribe/Unsubscribe Info

1.) Power Thought - Do You Know What You Are Doing?

How often do you take the time to plan out your day? Do you ever take 15 minutes to think about the things you need to do versus the things you want to do versus the things you must do versus the things others want you to do? Just taking the time to write down the top 5 or 6 things that are important and should be done.

Take care not confuse the urgent with the important. Just because it isn't urgent, doesn't mean it's not important. The ringing phone isn't important, but that ringing IS urgent. Is it urgent to create an action plan for ultimate success? No, probably not. But it is EXTREMELY important.

So, take that 15 minutes at the end of the day to plan out what you will do the next day.

2.) Recommended Resource - Faith

This refers to the Faith in God. I don't care what word you use to refer to God or the Supreme Being. It doesn't matter. I am talking about having that belief and faith that you and the world around you are not a cosmic accident. When you remember that and throw in a little prayer or talk with God, things don't seem as bad as they could, do they? I have always thought that God is there but for the longest time never knew what to do about it. Even though I don't do it nearly enough, I like to thank Him for all I have and for my family. I like to ask for His help to be strong. It is a very calming and serene feeling to remember that there is something greater than yourself and that that Supreme Being is there for you. It can truly make a difference in your outlook.

For those that do not believe in God or have any kind of Faith, I just ask you this: Where do you turn for answers, consolation, support and strength in times of fear, uncertainty and doubt? If you have something or some belief that provides you with that same peace and serenity, then good for you. If not, I suggest you find something for the day when you need it and don't know where to turn. Though, I like to believe that God is there for you too when you are ready.

3.) Main Article - Now What?

If you have been following these articles (of course you have), you have learned a lot of theoretical stuff about Opportunities and some things to change the way you see the world and yourself in relation to them.

So, NOW what do you do about it?

Good question. It's not enough that you have made the intellectual jump. You can accept the fact that there are opportunities everywhere and that anyone, including you, can access them. But how? What is the secret formula that creates the success you desire?

There's good news and bad news here.

Bad news is that there isn't any secret formula. No shortcuts and no easy road.

Good news is that just getting to this point is really the hardest part. The rest is all downhill. Sort of.

The cases where someone creates great success in life in a short period of time, with little effort are almost always either fleeting, fake, empty or actually backed up by long hours, days, weeks or months of consistent effort and determination.

Your consistent, determined effort is the key to long lasting success in life. It may take weeks, months or years to achieve that ultimate success, but don't be discouraged. That is true for EVERYONE.

Preparation creates winners and laziness confirms losers. Your preparation started the minute you began looking at improving yourself and looking at the world in a different way. That preparation opened your eyes and the wheels should be turning inside you.

Consistent. That means always, every day, without fail do it and do it again and again. Don't stop. Every time you stop, you start over. From the beginning. If you are on a 3 hour trip and stop and go home 2.5 hours into it because of bad weather, when you begin again the next day, you are not just 30 minutes from your destination. Same thing here.

Determined. This is single-minded purpose. Your are focused. You are steeled against the slings and arrows thrown your way by well-meaning family who tell you to get a nice, safe, REAL job. Or to stop day dreaming about some pie-in-the-sky "scheme".

Effort. This is simply action. DO something. Do SOMETHING. You cannot get anywhere if you never leave the house. Leaving the house is more than setting  goals and having a vision of where you want to be in 5 years. It is doing things. Little things that add up. When you aren't concerned about the time involved you can do the little things instead of trying to make that big score all at once.

Let's do the following. This is a VERY abbreviated sample of what some courses on the website will cover.

First you need do figure out what is important to you. I mean deep down, these are things I live by, wouldn't consider violating type stuff. Your values. A sample might include, God, family, friends, career, country, honesty, integrity, learning and dare I say, Opportunity. Give this list serious thought. There is  no right or wrong answer as to what is important to YOU. No right or wrong as to the priority either. Now write an Action Statement. This is simply an sentence that puts the value into action. For instance, "I honor God above all else." would be one. Or "To have integrity I will say what I mean and mean what I say."

Now imagine the ultimate life you would like to live in the context of your values. John Milton Fogg has the great suggestion to describe the typical day when you are living your vision. No special, one-time events or activities. What is the typical day? Does that check against your values? If not, which one needs to be restated? Sometimes we will claim a value and then write a vision that goes no where near it.

You might claim Family, but rank Success higher and picture yourself as the CEO of a large corporation working 60-80 hours a week. And you may LOVE that which IS OK. Just make sure you are honest and that the values and vision match up here.

There should be some clues in the vision that will tip you off to some actions to take now. If you want to be a CEO and barely got out of high school, you might want to go back to school or figure out how to create your own business and be your own CEO.

Do you have the skills currently to make this come true? If not, you have a general direction to move in. You need to get the skills or partner with someone who has them. Do you have the time or money? If not, you may have to do some other things first to free up the time or save the money.

You should end up with three things. A values list. A description of a typical day after you have achieved success and a list of things to do to get started. No one will finish the list in a week, unless their vision was already too easy to achieve. Remember to stretch yourself. You want to grow in the process and become a better person along the way. Take that list and prioritize it. What needs to be done 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. etc.

Now use that Consistent, Determined Effort to get going.

Along the way, new opportunities will pop up and you may change your mind about what is needed or if the vision is even right for you now. That doesn't matter.

What matters is getting started and moving. Concentrate all your available energies on each thing on the list until done and then (only then) move on. Unless things need to be done in a parallel fashion or can only go so far before something else is needed, don't split your efforts. Half the effort on a task generates less than half the results and rewards.

Good luck and God Bless.

Tim Johnson
timj@notimelost.com