take advantage of every opportunity

and so here I am revisiting this goal. Just a few thoughts here:
Goals are great for putting us on the pathway to our destinations. Sometimes other opportunities arise that have nothing to do with our goals. I think it’s important to recognize the opportunities worth taking, even if they have nothing to do with our goals.

Tonight I was almost killed or seriously injured walking home from my train! I was crossing a street with street lights, had the walk signal and watched where I was going, when some irresponsible jackass blew through the light and didn’t notice me until my hands were on the hood of her car. I’m lucky she saw me and I’m glad I was able to walk from the scene and make it home, but I’m also annoyed and upset that someone else’s carelessness could have ended everything. I’m still a bit shook up and angry, but I don’t want to go ramble on about it here. The moral of the story is that life’s short and it could be cut even shorter without notice. I can’t control everything that comes my way, but I can count my blessings, work at what I want and take advantage of opportunities that come my way.

life is too short to waste opportunities….you just never know what can come out of it! Now….for the opportunities to start rolling in….here we go 2009!

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Let go of fear, hesitation, worry, and feelings of inadequacy. CARPE DIEM!

... this is very similar to the goal “not let any more opportunities pass me by”, which has way more people subscribed to it.

But I prefer this phrasing. It feels more active, doing something instead of avoiding not doing something.

Yesterday morning, a friend called me and asked me if I was interested in filling a last-minute part in their short film. They’ve been filming for weeks, it was the last day of shooting and they needed someone “blondish, skinny computer guy”. (I’m not an actor, by the way)

I should have called in to work and canceled the day… but I had an ‘important’ audio conference.

In retrospect… wow. Duh. Regrets… There’s never anything in an audioconf that can’t be done another time.

..has taken me all around the world – from Russia to Switzerland, the USA and Thailand to the depths of South Wales (that’s in the UK, not Australia!).

I’ve worked as a teacher, a charity representative, a conference facilitator and actually taken charge of my own conference with 150 people attending! That’s while I’ve been at university studying for a Bachelor’s Degree.

While Russia may have been a little chilly, and all the work difficult at times, I have absolutely no regrets because all of these experiences have helped shape me and given me the independance and confidence that’s left me a better person :)