There is one thing that I’ve realised in my travels….there is opportunity everywhere you go. I find that too many people journey through life with their eyes closed rather than take in the wonder all around them.
I’ve found the secret to opening your eyes to the opportunities all around me is to be perpetually curious. Engage others by asking questions and then listen with both ears wide open…..remember you have one mouth and two ears….use them in those proportions.
For example, I’m writing this while staying on a farm right now (it’s a stunningly beautiful place) and after talking with the owner I’ve learned a LOT about cattle. More importantly, the importance of data, GPS and managing the land to get the highest yield. It was fascinating hearing him describe some of the advances in geo-fencing that would allow him to control where his cattle roamed.
What percolated through my mind was the fact that what was really needed was a person that could mobilise all the data together to optimise the yields. Big data is what ParkLogic specialises in so it was tempting to put my hand up for this opportunity…..Opportunity number one.
A little while later I’m chatting with a fifteen-year-old that’s written multiple books but doesn’t know how to get them published or how to market themselves. They are fifteen after all! It didn’t take long for me to realise she was an absolute prodigy and just needed some guidance. Opportunity number two.
Opportunity number three came from chatting with an Uber driver that was also a qualified accountant. He was a twenty-four-year-old, Pakistani that spoke English a lot better than me and had travelled the world with the goal of experiencing different cultures. He Ubers from 3am to 8am and then heads off to his accounting job until 5pm. It didn’t take me long to realise this was a hard-working guy you could build a travel business around. Opportunity three.
Each of these opportunities happened in a single day. If I kept my mouth shut and stared at my phone, then I wouldn’t have come across them. I’m doing what I can to assist the teenager with writing, but I’ll probably pass on the other two. What really struck me was the fact we are surrounded by opportunities.
When you attend a domain conference like NamesCon in January the biggest problem is the HUGE number of opportunities that present themselves every minute. You’ll never see them if you don’t talk to people and engage with them.
Typically speaking…..out of a hundred opportunities you may have the time and resources to take up one……but this means you still need to keep your eyes open to find the hundred. I wonder what would happen if you looked around your house right now….would you see opportunities that would spark interesting conversations or not? Or how about reaching out to a few people in the Domainer's Network to see if there are a few opportunities for you to work together? Go on.....be curious and start some interesting conversations.
Have a great weekend.