When An Opportunity Presents, Do You Seize The Moment?

When an opportunity presents to further your career, do you;

• Seize the moment and grab it with both hands? OR
• Do you retreat, wishing you had the courage to say YES?

Why is it that so many of us have fallen for the curse of the shrinking violet at some point in our pursuit of leadership success?

You have been presented with an opportunity you know is perfect. It is the thing that will help you to move forward, take the next step toward your career aspiration or give you the experience you have been looking for… but, instead of jumping at it with determination and gusto, you retreat to the comfort of what you already know.

I have heard it all from women in leadership. It doesn’t seem to matter what level of experience they are at or how much success they have had in the past; self doubt, procrastination and inaction are evil companions holding many extraordinary women back.

The truth is that success has come to the great leaders of our time by saying YES and grabbing the opportunities as they arise.

One of the most powerful lessons I have learnt from my mentors is to: “Say YES and then work out how!”

I can tell you, there are times when I wanted to run and hide, stay with what was safe and comfortable or stick with my automatic gut reaction to say NO … but if I had done that I would not have enjoyed the exhilaration that comes from achieving those things that I really wanted to do.

I have found that there is always someone out there who will support, guide and stand by me while I conjure up the courage … I just need to be willing to ask.

Opportunities are fleeting. If we don’t take action on them they will pass or be taken up by someone else. And how much does that hurt… seeing someone else doing the thing you really wanted for yourself?

This quote sums this idea up really well.