Opportunity

“If a window of opportunity appears, don't pull down the shade.”

― Tom Peters

Carpe diem - seize the day, or in this case, seize the opportunity.  But, as the quote above suggests, opportunity is often overlooked, or simply not recognized as such.  Consider one of my favorite stories: After a violent storm, a man was standing on the roof of his home, praying for help, while around him flooding and destruction abounded.  One of his neighbors threw a rope from his own untouched home and begged the man to crawl over to safety, but the man refused, saying that God would save him.  As the storm became even more dreadful, some people came by in a rowboat and shouted at him to join them to safety, but the man refused, claiming that God would save him.  Later, a helicopter flew by with a basket and men to help him to safety, but again the man refused, claiming that God would save him.  When the man died, he stood before God and cried, 'I've been a faithful man, I have gone to church, I have prayed, why did you not save me?' To which God replied, 'I sent you a rope, I sent you a rowboat, I sent you a helicopter, but each time you refused my help.'

Opportunity may not always appear as we expect.  It may assume curious personnas.  The wisdom is in recognizing opportunity when it appears.