How we live in the greatest era of opportunity and how persistence always pays off

One of the main differences between the average business owner and a true entrepreneur is the ability to see opportunities in situations and finding a way to harness them to create wealth. Instead of seeing the obstacles that need to be tackled and being held back, they are accepted as part of the journey to the end goal.

Historically, those who dared to make a difference and walk their path in life have always faced difficulties
that would send most so called ‘sane’ 
human beings running for the hills, and sanctuary of the ‘norm’, the employed, every day Joe Bloggs 
who receives their pay no matter what the P & L sheet may say
 to the boss.

It’s hardly
 surprising 
though, it’s
 our brain’s
 natural
 defence
 mechanism, it
always pushes 
you to the ‘safe’
option, to protect 
you, not just in business life, but life 
in general. The human
 brain always remembers
 the bad or painful things that
 happen to it long after it forgets the joyful effects of the dopamine released.

Today the challenges are different, sure we all need cash flow, customers, marketing engines and reporting to drive the business to where we want it to go, but so many obstacles have been removed simply by those who strive to innovate and elevate the lives of themselves and others.

The single most influential factor has to be the miracle that is the internet. No longer are business owners confined to local customer catchment areas or the need to rely solely on simple word of mouth to elevate their business and ultimately their income. Social media sites and search engines have opened up a world of opportunity, literally!

Personally, for me it has allowed my business to move from the high street of the local town centre and only serve those who walk it, to international orders from Europe and beyond simply by the click of a mouse and the use of a small plastic card that represents usable currencies across borders and oceans.

Replace the individual items with those of your choice but can you imagine the small high street trader of any town selling their wares to someone they had never met, in a country they had never been too, using a currency that in physical form would be useless in their till a mere 50 years ago?

Now factor in, that in my industry the item is perishable and must arrive fit for the customer to eat after traveling possibly thousands of miles.

All of the factors listed would lead some short-sighted complainers to resort to all the reasons why it’s not possible or worth the effort to even try to achieve such a transaction. Turn the situation 180 degrees and all that is seen is an opportunity to provide the end user with a solution to a problem (the reason all business exists) and create an income stream at the same time.

It’s as simple as that, everything else is just a process of finding the how.

Most problems are solved by simple fact-finding exercises that lead to a path of success. No lengthy letters, long waits for replies or lost in the posts any more. If you need an export code for an individual item, the rules of export and who will export it for you, then simply ‘Google’ it and the information is with you in about 0.00556 seconds, not 5 weeks. Clever hey?

The single most influential factor has to be
the miracle that is the internet
…


Social media sites and search engines have opened up a world of opportunity

Just think about all the things that a time saving like that could do for you.

How much more could you get done in 24 hours now compared to just the last generation, never mind the one before??

We all have 24 hours in every day, are you maximising on your potential?

This new world of opportunity also allows us to scale up at a much faster rate than ever before. You can have 1 business in any field you desire, but you can also have smaller ‘side’ businesses or income streams that you can run from your phone while you are sitting in an armchair watching the rugby.

Why stop at 1 business when you could have 3,4,5 in all different interests and all over the world, the choice is yours and if you take the time to build and scale them with strong foundations and solid systems, the path to success and financial comfort, and eventual freedom, isn’t as far away as it once seemed to be.

Don’t get me wrong, it takes time. It takes grit, determination, sacrifice and ultimately persistence to succeed at anything in business and life in general. So many people want it all and they want it now, but for all the advancements in technology, some things don’t happen overnight or even every time. That said, we are all living longer, so just chill out sometimes and keep trying, persistence beats problems EVERY TIME.

The great thing about being alive and in business now is that the recovery from the falls and setbacks is much shorter now than it ever has been. New legitimate business entities can be officially set up in as little as 15 minutes whilst sitting in your underpants eating breakfast, and all from the convenience of your tablet or mobile.

As the planet, and we, as a culture evolve, the world is becoming smaller and smaller, want to see your client 10,000 miles away? No problem “Google/Alexa, find me tickets to………..” you get the point. Even quicker is a Skype or Zoom call and you can be face to face within minutes.

There are so many opportunities around you that I urge you to look for them in every situation you find yourself, whether it be business or personal life. Get yourself into the opportunity mind-set, add a lot of thought, stay grounded (remember nothing is ever as good or as bad as it first seems) and then finish with action, make it happen.

I’ll leave you with a few questions to think upon to get you started:

  1. What opportunities are in front of you today?
  2. What can you do to make those opportunities work for you?
  3. How many times have you made decisions not to lose rather than to win?