Opportunity is Here, If You Are Looking for It

Stoic Quote of the Week

This can be swiftly taught in very few words: virtue is the only good; there is no certain good without virtue; and virtue resides in our nobler part, which is the rational one. And what can this virtue be? True and steadfast judgment.

-Seneca

What I learned this week:

Opportunity is everywhere; the problem isn't finding it but seeing it. I think of all the people I've met and places I visited, and when my mind is in the right attitude, I see opportunity in everyone and everything. That's where we should all be, all the time. One of my favorite examples of seeing opportunity is the memory of driving down a barely two-lane road West of Ft. Worth and seeing an old rusty, broken down F100 step side sitting in front of the rancher's house and thinking to myself; I should buy that because I could fix it up and make it a really cool looking truck. This is how we should look at life. The trouble is that we are human and can't see opportunity in everything because we are down on ourselves or mad at someone. When we are in that mindset, our mind limits us to what we see, and all we see is red anger and despair. Anger and despair keep us from seeing the solutions and the opportunities that are right in front of us. We can't even hear opportunity knocking at the door when we are pissed off or feeling sorry for ourselves. All we can think about is how much that person screwed us over or how much our lives suck. Those two things are screaming so loud in our minds that they block out all other possible solutions. Here's the simple solution, stop feeling that way. I know that is much easier to say than do. When I am pissed off or feeling sorry for myself, I know all I have to do is decide not to be, hahaha, right! This is like anything else in life; we must decide to change, then take action to change. For me, and likely most of you, the action to take involves physical movement. Sometimes that movement is hitting the gym and tossing around some rusty iron; other times, it takes a brief heart rate-raising walk or maybe a few push-ups. The point is once you decide to change, you have to take action to make the change. We must literally move out of the woe is me attitude into an openness of opportunity. When we spend our lives seeing opportunities, everything truly is roses. Find opportunities for success and happiness in your life.

Planning thought of the week:

Opportunities come and go, and our plans must provide the option for our team to recognize and pursue opportunities. We can't plan for everything, but we can plan to see success as long as we have established the culture within our team that we are always open to new and better ways of doing things. In your plan, include ways your team can identify and share new opportunities.

Business idea I heard about or thought of:

Every so often, I am reminded of the trades. You know, plumbers, electricians, carpenters. It usually happens after I have to have something repaired in the house, like this week. We had a small water leak in the basement that we caught in time before it made a huge mess and would have required several tradesmen to fix it. As I'm writing this, I'm trying to visualize what it would be like to have a robot chat GPT on wheels or tracks, arrive at my house, analyze the systems of my house, and go to the problem. Yep, that ain't happening anytime soon, which brings me back to the trades. Those skills will not be going away for decades, perhaps longer. Think of all the houses and all the commercial spaces that exist. Every one of them has electrical and plumbing, and something will wear out or break at some point in the future. Throw in the fact that you are getting paid when you start out as an apprentice. There isn't work for free internships in the trades. 18-year-old apprentice can be a full on tradesman by 22 and running his own business from there. Don't discount the trades career field. It is going to be here for a very long time. Everyone who pays $100K+ for college degrees will be looking for someone who knows how to do something practical like brazing a copper pipe.

Veteran opportunity of the week:

Here is another great all in one resource from the VA. It's called VA Radio Outreach, and the site is full of PSA sound bites about services and opportunities for veterans ranging from free admission for life to our national parks to maximizing your tax benefits. Here's the link to the site.

Someone I met this week:

If you like wine, you're gonna love this. If you like puns and plays on words, your gonna love this. If you like good old fashioned hard work and a love of community, you're gonna love this. My good friend Matthew is expanding his brand. If you listened to episode # 242, then you know Matthew somewhat. I wanted to take this time to share a bit more about not only the Jolly Camper release last week and why drinking yellow snow is fun. I want to let you know that the Evergood Adventure Wine team is adding a new piece of business to the adventure, the Lemon Lodge Ski Bar in downtown Colorado Springs. Yep, Colorado Springs, home to 5 military bases, tons of veterans, and beautiful views, is about to have its own ski lodge! The closest slopes are at the Broadmoor and have been closed for 50 years. But you don't need a lift pass or ski boots to have fun at this ski lodge. You'll be able to partake in all of the Evergood Adventure Wines menu of adult beverages and hit the virtual slopes on an Olympic-level ski simulation, all in downtown Colorado Springs. No 3-hour drive to Breck or Keystone is needed. All right here at home. Keep your eyes peeled for this great venue to open soon!

Link to current The Cam & Otis Show podcast episode, Carla Fowler - THAXA Executive Coaching | Cam & Otis Ep.?#249. Please note that we updated our show's webpage to https://www.youtube.com/@thecamandotisshow.

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