In these turbulent and uncertain economic times, it is sometimes challenging to remain optimistic.  We are bombarded with unpleasant news and everywhere we turn there is evidence of recession; businesses closing, real estate values plummeting, and so forth.

I came across a quote the other day that I want to share.

"The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’ One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger – but recognize the opportunity."

~John F. Kennedy, Speech in Indianapolis, April 12, 1959
35th president of US 1961-1963 (1917 – 1963)

There will always be opportunities we simply have to remember to look for them and allow ourselves to see them.

Are you living life in the present, crying over the past, or dreaming about the future?  The other day I mentioned the quote,

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today? Today is a gift. That’s why we call it The Present ."

The present is a gift, the past and the future both reside in your mind.  While it’s certainly a great idea to visualize your future, it’s counterproductive to spend too much time there.  As for the past, there’s certainly nothing wrong with taking a stroll down Memory Lane.  However, it’s wise to let go of that which no longer serves you and stop carrying the burden of the mistakes of your past.  The past is gone and the future lives in your imagination.

We’ve all been guilty of not hearing the sound of opportunity knocking at one time or another.  Maybe we just didn’t recognize the opportunity at the time.  It’s the old shoulda, woulda, coulda.  As for the future, taking action today is the best thing you can do to prevent you from worrying about tomorrow or having regrets.  Worrying about the future is an exercise in futility.  By not living in the present, we miss the beauty and joy of what’s happening now.

One of my hobbies is photography, an enjoyable pursuit that allows us to capture today’s images, which will become tomorrow’s memories.  However, artistic photography is much more than a means by which to record history, it’s a true art medium.

Photography is a subtractive art form in that the photographer begins with the entire world and must selectively extract the elements that portray the essence of a place or subject.  I photograph images that intrigue me on an emotional or artistic level and then do my best to capture and highlight the intrinsic charm of that magical moment.

The ability to suspend and preserve fragments in time is one of the reasons I love photography.  The other is the art of seeing.  It requires me to be totally in the moment, cognizant of these magnificent vignettes of everyday life.  The world is my canvas and I feel privileged to share my vision of this fascinating planet with others.

Being in the moment allows you to focus on what’s in front of you.  Many people go through life in a trance and don’t stop to take the time to live in the moment. They’re going though the motions as if they’re on autopilot.  Some people also tend to think that by multi-tasking they’re accomplishing more, when they’re really not giving either task 100% of their focus.

Once I visited a physician who asked me to explain the reason for my visit.  In the middle of my explanation, he began reading my chart.  Not only did I find this to be quite rude, it was also quite inefficient as it’s very difficult to read and listen at the same time.  Notice I said I visited this physician “once”!

Think about the instances when you’ve been so engrossed in something that you totally lost track of time; it could be a hobby, a book, a movie, dinner with a friend, or anything you love doing.  That’s called living in the moment.  When you’re living in the moment you’re living in the present. If you’re not living in the present, you aren’t enjoying the gift of today and the world of may never discover the gifts you might have contributed.

I’ve heard it said that if you were to take all the money away from the wealthy and redistribute it evenly among everyone, that within one year an upper class, a middle class, and a lower class would re-emerge. I believe this to be true because some people would see opportunities and take advantage of them as they arise. Others would save or invest their money and possibly take advantage of a few opportunities. The remainder would blow their money, ignore opportunities, and make excuses as to why they no longer have the kind of life they desire.

Have you ever noticed that so many of the wealthy people in this country weren’t even born here? This is something I have always found very fascinating. I’ve heard story after story of people who immigrated to this country and came here with very little or no money. Yet many of them became very successful people, at least in terms of amassing wealth. They do whatever is necessary to acquire their dreams. Many of them achieve this success by initially living as cheaply as possible, working 2 or 3 jobs, and saving their hard earned dollars. Then they learn everything they can in a given field and often go into business for themselves. Sometimes they get small business loans if necessary. Once they achieve initial success with one store, they often go ahead and open a second and then a third. They find good managers to run the additional stores. The power of duplicity is a great way to create wealth because once you train someone to do exactly what you do you can continue duplicating this success over and over again.

Why do so many foreigners take advantage of these opportunities while the rest of us do not? I believe it’s because they see opportunities where we do not. Many of these people grew up in countries that don’t have the endless luxuries that we do.

Imagine if you lived in a shack that you shared with 10 other people. The place has no heating or air conditioning, no refrigeration, and a dirt floor. Food is scarce and you have no running water and have to walk a mile just for fresh water. Suddenly the idea of working two jobs in exchange for living in a place that has flooring and refrigeration would seem like a dream come true. The opportunity to learn about business and actually be able to get a loan for this purchase would be unheard of where you came from. So naturally, when you arrive in this country all you can see is opportunity, everywhere you look. There are even fountains with fresh water and coins in the bottom! This is obviously a place of great abundance.

Now this may be an exaggerated example but I use it to illustrate a point. Why don’t we see the many opportunities that surround us? It’s because when you’re comfortable and all of your basic needs are met it’s harder to see the opportunity. We simply don’t want to take advantage of opportunity because sometimes what’s really an opportunity feels like a tremendous sacrifice. We’re just too comfortable to see what we’ve got. So, we make excuses as to why something won’t work to avoid making what we perceive to be a sacrifice.

We use negative self-talk; getting my degree will take too much time, or owning my own business would require too much work, or getting a loan involves too much risk. Oh, and then, pursuing a certain course of action might take up too much of my time and I’d have to give up watching my favorite TV shows, and so on and so forth.

We’re like spoiled children who get everything handed to them only to take it all for granted. It drives me crazy when I see parents give their kids everything, which teaches them the value of nothing. There, I said it. This opinion might not make me too popular with some, but I don’t care; it’s what I truly believe. We tend to place much more value on things that we have to work for and pay for with our own money especially if we earn them the old fashioned way. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to give your children opportunities and provide them with a wonderful life. However, teaching them the value of working and seizing opportunities is one of the best gifts you can give them.

The following quote is attributed to Helen Keller.

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us ."

If a blind and deaf mute could see opportunity then surely all of us can learn from her remarkable attitude. While she may not have had the gift of sight, she certainly possessed vision.

People have been coming to this country for years in search of a better life. After all, this is the land of opportunity. Once you realize this, the possibilities are limitless! If you have sight, but lack vision you might not see every opportunity. If you have vision, you can take advantage of opportunities and create the life you desire. Having sight allows you to see what is. Having vision allows you to see what can be!