What is opportunity, and when does it knock? It never knocks. You can wait a whole lifetime, listening and hoping, and you will hear no knocking. None at all. You are opportunity, and you must knock on the door leading to your destiny. You prepare yourself to recognize opportunity, to pursue and seize opportunity as you develop the strength of your personality and build a self-image with which you are able to live. ~Maxwell Maltz

Sometimes people wait their entire lives for the right doors to open for them. They wait passively hoping and wishing something will change. Out of the blue, things will turn around for them. They are good people. They deserve it. Maybe they had some bad breaks, but some day good fortune might suddenly fall into their laps. They just might get lucky, but until then their choices and inaction keep them in a discontented place. They wish they could have the success that others have. They can only imagine how nice it must be to have the opportunities others have. Very rarely, however, do they consider the cost of hard work, strong faith, determination, and persistance.

Most people who are successful in life have paid their dues. I am talking about truly successful people, not those who have things handed to them and do very little with their opportunities. Although there is nothing wrong with someone getting a good break because of a connection, that person will only experience the rewards of success when validated for their own efforts, investment, and talent. Until then, he or she may not feel too successful regardless of how they appear to others. They too want to know the rewards and self-confidence that come from growing, giving, and fulfilling your destiny.

The good news is that we do not have to wait for opportunity to knock. We can recognize opportunity, pursue it, and seize it. We can start knocking on doors right now. We can take steps to move forward, change, improve, and fulfill our destiny. We can develop and practice successful habits today!! What are you waiting for?

Empowering Thoughts & Words of Wisdom:
A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds. ~Francois Bacon

Opportunities? They are all around us. There is power lying latent everywhere waiting for the observant eye to discover it. ~Orison Swett Marden

It's the man who waits for his ship to come in who's always missing the boat. ~Anonymous

Many an opportunity is lost because a man is out looking for four-leaf clovers. ~Anonymous

The trouble with opportunity is that it always comes disguised as hard work. ~Anonymous

Everyone has a fair turn to be as great as he pleases. ~Jeremy Collier

Your big opportunity may be right where you are now. ~Napoleon Hill

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. ~Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Copyright 2011 All Rights Reserved. Written by Krystal Kuehn.

Author's Bio: 

Krystal Kuehn, MA, LPC, LLP, NCC is a psychotherapist, author, teacher & musician. She is cofounder of BeHappy4Life.com, an award-winning, self-help and inspirational site where you can find hundreds of free resources, insights & inspiration as well as NewDayCounseling.org, a family counseling, couples therapy center specializing in all areas of mental health and well-being including parenting classes and anger management classes.