Have you ever noticed the people who complain about the lack of opportunities are also the ones that are the first to say they are too busy to join, have too much work to do, can't take on another project, and are the ones turning away perfectly good opportunities? Complain, complain, complain, blah, blah, blah. If I were ole "Opportunity," I would knock on another door too.
(Picture provided by Dominic's Pics on Flickr through Creative Commons license.)
How can you position yourself to invite more opportunity?
1. Stop Complaining. Not only is this a negative, unproductive opportunity, you can't hear when opportunity DOES knock.
2. Choose one of the following statements for the day:
A. I make things happen!
B. Things happen to me.
Hopefully, you chose option A. You're one step closer to inviting more opportunity! If you have chosen B, there's no one who can help you. Go back to bed. Wake up tomorrow and choose A.
3. HELP yourself. If there is a lack of opportunity in your life, stop and figure out WHY. Take some responsibility on WHY you are in this situation - and take a step to move yourself OUT of the situation. If it's because you don't have a degree, sign up for 1 class. Small step, but BOY, you'd be 1 class closer to a degree than you were yesterday. If you're looking for a job, and the only place you are looking is on monster.com - you're missing out on the majority of the job market. Most jobs never hit the classifieds! (CNNMoney.com reports over 80% of jobs are never advertised.) Figure out what you're missing and find a way to GET IT! Stop finding excuses, start finding solutions. Make it YOUR business to be IN business. ENGAGE yourself fully!
4. Forgive yourself for any mistakes, and know that YOU are WORTHY of success beyond your wildest dreams. Most people sabotage themselves - the reason most people don't succeed isn't for lack of trying, its lack of belief in themselves. My favorite quote, "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're usually right." (Henry Ford) Why not be right about your success?
How does this apply to our apartment industry?
With this economy, so many people are singing the blues. I GET IT. It's a tough market. So what? We're all in this market together. If both you & I are operating in the same market, all's fair. Go through steps 1-4 not only for yourself, but for your apartment community, for your team, for your career, for your staff. Stop complaining about the market and making excuses. Start finding solutions. Engage in your community's success. Participate and engage in your community. Forgive yourself, your staff for not being able to run it like it WAS, and run your apartment community the way you CAN, and not the way you CAN'T.
Winston Churchill said, "
Do you see difficulties or opportunities in your future? Do you see the Land of Opportunity?
Don't get it? RENT SODA. GET IT!
-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN
Daisy Nguyen is owner and CEO of RENT SODA, a business and marketing consulting company. Become a FAN of RENTSODA, connect on LinkedIn, FOLLOW RENT SODA on Twitter, visit her website, RENT SODA, or read the blog, RENT SODA, Don't Get? GET IT! for more information and regular blog entries.