Seize The Moment (ZTM) ? : Making Progress Out Of Every Opportunity!

Seize The Moment (ZTM) ? : Making Progress Out Of Every Opportunity!

By Anthony Olabode Ayodele

Life is 'lived in moments', not days, not even in hours, states a Micro-Moment google advert! The advert goes on to explain how a moment in time can be pulled out to start a great marketing campaign (Micro-moments Advertisement).

 Everyday, millions of moments pass by, presenting, even more opportunities. The issue is that many don't think in moments. They prefer being inundated with the same idea repeatedly before they can digest it and consider following through.

 Unfortunately, life does not work that way!

In 2017 and beyond if you are going to be or remain successful you must know how to break life down into moments. You must have an eye for and identify moments that matter to you! Then, follow the ideas garnered from such moments like a tangent, as long as they are in line with the attainment of your wider objectives. This way you will take advantage of the opportunities they present!

 So what does it mean to Seize The Moment? The phrase itself is clear and self-explanatory! The Free Dictionary describes it as: 'To take full advantage of life's opportunities whenever and wherever they present themselves; to live life to one's full potential'!

 To break this down and put such into practice, however, means much more than this! You must be prepared for such moments, even though you don't know when they will come and how they will present themselves. You must have the essential tools ready to take advantage of them: and above all, you must be eagle-eyed and focused!

 In short, you must be attuned and receptive to such moments! You must be alert and aware that they are coming! And, indeed, you must not be too overwhelmed by what leads to them to seize them when they happen!

 Take note of the last phrase; not being overwhelmed by what leads to a 'moment' when it happens is crucial to your success! Many 'moments' last for just fleeting seconds! Also, what is a relevant 'moment' to you, depends on what exactly your goals are in life and what you want to achieve.

Anthony Robbins in his book: Awaken the Giant within describes something similar. He refers to it as that point when you shout 'Eureka'! He states it's like like when you are reading a book and you close its pages once you receive a great idea! 

One of such moments, he states, was when he was introduced to NLP! Yet, another, was when he realised he could not make it in life alone! 

IDENTIFYING A MOMENT IS DIFFERENT FROM SEIZING IT!

Furthermore, what we want to establish here, is the difference between merely identifying a moment and seizing it. To identify a moment is to realise when it happens...! To acknowledge it...!  To seize it, however, means to act upon it!

Life is a series of motions! Everything that is successful seems to be moving! For you to move from point A to B, sometimes, you have got to hitch a ride on something going in that direction. You've got to understand that something will appear in the space of your life designed to take you to where you intend to go faster than you could otherwise get there. How long do you have to recognise the opportunity when it comes by...? The inspiration may not last for more than just a whimsical second!

INTUITION

Very essential to one's ability to seize the moment is putting your intuition to use! This is following a hunch or an idea when it flashes by because you think it will work out; without actually giving it a deep, long thought! You may think this is not being thoughtful, but really, it is only being receptive to what you have been seeking for! Thought attracts like! When what you desire comes by it may not give you a prior notice. You have to recognise and figure things out yourself.

If you are an Angel Investor, for instance, you may have mastered the art of recognising, well-designed, business plans. Nevertheless, you may notice that many who put a great deal of time into preparing such end up not performing - when they receive the desired financial aid- as expected!

However, there are those you may come across who don't ask for money but from your experience - you reckon with the injection of adequate funds - they will turn out a runaway success! It could be due to the tenacity of purpose of the founder or the mere fact that the person is on to a brilliant idea! 

As an Angel investor, you have to separate the shaft from the wheat! You must also be willing to recognise that the success you seek could come in different forms and from different angles. It is not only those who approach you for help that you should fund. What stops you from approaching a person whom your intuition tells you is the kind of winner you are seeking for?

BE PREPARED!

Remember the motto of the Boys Scout organisation? Be prepared! This falls in line with the maxim that states that 'preparation plus opportunity equals success'! To seize a moment, as stated earlier you've got to be prepared for what you expect and even what you don't expect to happen. 

Such preparation could be as simple as always going about with a recording device such as a pocket flip camcorder. Many smartphones today have their own video recording software so you may not need to own or carry an extra device (as long as you find it adequate). Besides, if you capture something on video, you can extract still images from the video to use as pictures. Hence you don't need to always take photographs.

Being able to record moments when they occur - either via video recording or photographs - could make the difference between seizing a moment and not. It could be the major determinant of your success in life. German Fashion Designer, artist and photographer, Karl Lagerfeld, stated as much when he said: 'what I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that's gone forever, impossible to reproduce'! Never be caught napping when you need to capture a moment on camera. It's one thing not to have the opportunity to take a picture. It's another not to have a device on you to do so!

Personally, I have had a lot of success attributable to this habit! When I came up with the idea of this publication, BODE In Flight, I had no idea how I was going to publicise it. There were no funds to push it forward. It was just an idea that I operated on a shoe-string budget.

Shortly after I wrote my first article, however, an opportunity came by which I narrated during the third anniversary of the publication (see narration on slide, -right- and full presentation below). I was among those accredited and invited to attended a Business Training event. Some of us were called upon impromptu to make a short presentation (first, just a line, then for a minute) regarding our business. Of course, many weren't prepared and sort of struggled with it. Not only was I prepared (even though I had no prior knowledge) I had my flip camera on me! Just before stepping onto the stage I set it up and let the camera roll. The resultant recording till today serves as my online official launch of the publication! 

CELEBRATING BODE IN FLIGHT AT THREE!

 Open Celebrating BODE In Flight At Three!

Another Seize the Moment (ZTM) opportunity of mine was what led to my starting City Road Digest. If I hadn't had a video camera on me when the Mayor came calling I would not have had the idea of writing a story which led to me thinking of building a publication around the transformation of City Road!

Furthermore, if I chose to go by the coverage of the local media of the event (Hackney Gazette) all I 

probably could have ended up claiming, subsequently, would be I had a 'hand in the event' as it was only my hand that appeared in the picture the publication used (I guess that's what the idiom means really) resultant of its coverage!

This brings one to another salient point: no matter who you are, don't always think you are important to everyone (I once rode - just the two of us - in the lift with the Chairman/MD of the company that gave me a position as an Industrial Training (IT) student - Chief Femi Adekanye of the then, but now defunct, Commerce Bank- and only offered a hello to his greeting, simply because I didn't know him). 

On the same note, don't always depend on someone else - I am not saying we can't collaborate with one another- to help get an aspect of what you want to achieve done for you!

THE IMPORTANCE OF IDEAS!

Remember, ideas are the foundation of success! It takes one forming the habit of seizing and capturing the moments linked to such ideas to make them work in one's favour!

 YOUTUBE VIDEO

If you know that you are slow on getting and following up on brilliant ideas, I'll suggests you consult our outfit, Ideas, Concepts and Products (ICP Media) which has been in the business of idea generation for individuals and business clients for over a decade! 

At an early stage in life I reckoned ideas - not money first- would be what would determine whether one succeeds. Hence, I made up my mind to make it a habit of coming up with great ideas. This led to my later forming the outfit Ideas Concepts and Products in the first place!

Some of the ideas I have generated through the application of the ZTM principle have been worth millions to those who put them to use or the individuals/organisations they were generated for!

 For instance, just to mention a few, while working for The Guardian Newspapers, Nigeria, I pioneered the idea of minute by minute coverage of sporting events. 

 The BBC (whose then correspondent in Nigeria, Eniwoke Igbagere called to commend me for it) went ahead to turn this into the main means through which they report football match stories till date!

While working for SuccessDigest magazine, an idea I generated to start seminars and selling motivational books, though initially scoffed at by my employer, Dr Sunny Ojeagbase, became a major separate source of income - SADC Books - to his outfit.

Finally, when with Mountain of Fire, the idea I personally suggested to the founder, Dr DK Olukoya, to have his messages broadcast over the internet live in Real Time- has equally remained a main source of income to the ministry ever since it was adapted!

HOW YOU DRESS!

Your ability to seize the moment could also be linked to how you dress. Always, try to appear appropriate, for an occasion. If you are not too sure that a tie or scarf would fit in, why not go with one concealed in your bag? 

One fashion designer, Akinola Toluwalope said: 'Your Life Is an Occasion, be properly dressed for it'! 

Awareness and your - as stated earlier - intuition could help you out here. Think ahead of an event. Look at what happened at similar, previous, occasions. Where there is no precedent to follow, just think of what could happen considering the event's nature, and prepare for even what's outside the norm.

For instance, you could meet an unexpected celebrity at an event. Though you may not be part of the media you may have the opportunity of a rare interview. This could even earn you money in future or shoot you into the limelight!

Your success in 2017 and life beyond could depend largely upon your ability to seize the moments and take advantage of the opportunities such present!

GO FOR IT: ACHIEVE YOUR DREAMS!