{"id":854,"date":"2017-05-15T15:06:59","date_gmt":"2017-05-15T15:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/?p=854"},"modified":"2017-05-15T15:06:59","modified_gmt":"2017-05-15T15:06:59","slug":"seize-your-opportunities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/05\/seize-your-opportunities.html","title":{"rendered":"Seize Your Opportunities"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Travel<\/a><\/p>\n

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” – Thomas Edison<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I am now at an age when I and many of my friends have high school age children. So, of course, our minds are on grades, SAT scores and college<\/em>. Parents and kids put a lot of thought into picking the right college based on academics, social life and cost.<\/p>\n

But we can get so wound up about picking the right school for our children that we miss the bigger picture. What I tell my daughter about college, and about life generally, is this: It really doesn\u2019t matter where you start out in life.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter where you go to college.\u00a0 The only thing that really matters in life is whether you seize your opportunities.<\/em><\/p>\n

So, it doesn\u2019t matter whether you go to Harvard or community college. It doesn\u2019t matter whether you grow up rich or poor.\u00a0 What matters is whether you take every opportunity given to you and do something with it.<\/p>\n

If you think about some of the most successful people in our country, most came from very humble beginnings. People who immediately come to mind are Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Oprah.\u00a0 They are people who started with very little, but who ran with every opportunity given to them.<\/p>\n

My daughter is a great example of what happens when you seize your opportunities. In 7th<\/sup> and 8th<\/sup> grade, her middle school teacher offered to sponsor any student who wanted to compete in the National History Day competition.\u00a0 My daughter was the only student to take her up on this offer.<\/p>\n

One year she made it to the state finals. The second year, she created a short documentary for the competition.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t place, but a more important thing happened.\u00a0 She realized that she had a passion for filmmaking.\u00a0 She now knows that she wants to become a documentary filmmaker when she grows up.<\/p>\n

The question then is, \u201cHow do you get opportunities in life?\u201d There is only one way that I\u00a0know of \u2013 hard work.\u00a0 Hard work always leads to opportunities.\u00a0 That is why I am continually amazed at how many people are content to do the bare minimum in life.\u00a0 I can assure you that if you work hard, have a positive attitude and do a little bit more than is expected, you will be presented with opportunities.\u00a0 People in power will want to advance you.\u00a0 The reality is that hard work, professionalism, attention to detail, and\u00a0good manners will take you farther in this world than a diploma from an Ivy League school.<\/p>\n

Every day, we are presented with opportunities to do excellent work, whether it be at school, at our jobs, or in our communities. Seize those opportunities.\u00a0 Run with them.\u00a0 In life, when you do your best with one opportunity, invariably another will follow.<\/p>\n

(Photo Courtesy of Pexels)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” – Thomas Edison I am now at an age when I and many of my friends have high school age children. So, of course, our minds are on grades, SAT scores and college. 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