a love letter to opportunity

Dear Opportunity,

I love you and I dread you. You drag me out of my nice safe cage, elated and terrified. Even before I get to the details, I find myself worrying, “what have I done?! why did I invite this in?” Because I do invite you in, I create you by opening up and connecting with what is important to me:

• sharing

• clarity

• simplicity

• awe

• peace

• motivation

And then my brain takes over and I panic:

• what if I can’t deliver

• what if I make the wrong choice

• what if I look stupid

• what if I’m not good enough

• what was I thinking anyway?!

Oh opportunity, what am I waiting for?

Perfection

Well, settle down for a long wait. A permanent one. If I wait for perfection - perfect timing, perfect situation, perfect offer, perfect me - I will wait forever, anxious and unable to focus on anything except what is lacking.

To Feel Ready

If I see you, opportunity, as a place to learn and play and grow, I am always ready. If I see you as a place to dominate, shine and knock-it-out-of-the-ballpark, I will never be ready, ever. Home runs happen after lots of strikeouts and base hits.

The Right Time

Is there ever one? Or is it more like, as my friend Alison had taped to her refrigerator 20 years ago:

THIS is the moment you have been waiting for.

Consensus and support

Well, these are nice, but they can also be double-edged swords of procrastination and subordination. If the idea is mine, as long as I am clear, open, sharing, and loving with myself and my collaborators/partners, making choices based on what feels right for me right now is the best way forward.

And so, opportunity, when I connect with you deeply and hold you lightly, I can see that if I meet you in the space where curiosity lives, I can start to tiptoe my way out of my cage, realistic and audacious, confident and humble.

We’ve got this. Hang on, here we go…

Love,

me