There are two things that have made all the difference in my life in terms of success, and those two things are...

1.) Learning to adapt to my surroundings and circumstances.
2.) Being able to recognize the opportunities in front of me.

I learned very early on that, while it's important to be true to who you are as a person, being who you are may not necessarily get you through the door, or land you very many opportunities.

For example, I'm an overly confident person. So much so, that I fully believe that I can do whatever I want and become whatever I want, as long as I work hard (and smart) at it, and give it enough time to manifest. Sometimes, my confidence has been mistaken for arrogance. Knowing that, when I want to learn something from someone, it wouldn't be wise for me to show up in a boastful and confident manner. But rather stay silent, stay humble, be attentive and absorb what the other person is teaching.

I've had to learn that confidence is a wonderful thing to possess, but it should be exercised in moderation. Some people will say this is compromising your true self, but I disagree.

Like many things in life, you cannot be who you are at all times. You have to change your behavior and thinking to suit the situation around you. You may like to laugh and joke, but I wouldn't suggest you go into a job interview laughing and joking. True, being a prankster might be who you are, but pranks have no place in a job interview. You have to adopt a more serious persona for the time being, then after the interview, you can go back to being yourself.

For me to move ahead in business, I had to learn when and where to act a certain way, talk a certain way, and carry myself a certain way. I had to adjust my behavior to the surroundings and circumstances present. I had to learn when to speak and stand up for myself, and when to just sit there and shut up. And trust me, it's made a world of difference in my life.

The second component to this, is not only being able to recognize an opportunity when you see it, but to capitalize on it as well.

The problem with many Internet entrepreneurs, bloggers, writers, digital marketers, or any one who wants to make money online for that matter, is that they're more reactive than proactive. They would rather wait for someone else to blaze the trail before they even prepare or plan to make the journey themselves.

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing inherently terrible about wanting proof before you venture into something. However, because they are reactive types, they fail to see the many opportunities that surround them. Most people want to be taught every nuance of internet marketing before they go out and build a website. Little do they know, they can make money during this process by teaching what they learn to a group of followers, then building a business in front of them. If there's anything I know about online income it's that people will pay for REAL results and data. (I will touch on this more in a later thread.) But they don't because they feel they aren't smart enough, or because they don't have enough experience or knowledge. You don't have to be the smartest person in the room, to be smarter than someone else in the room. There are people who want to know what you do, but it's up to you to find. But because you believe you aren't ready, you miss an opportunity to teach someone, grow, and possible secure a new client in the future when you are ready to market your business. Get my point?

But an opportunity doesn't have to economical, it can simply be an oppotunity to better themselves by learning a new skill for free, or helping someone in need of extra help.

I can recall a number of occasions where I was able to pounce on an opportunity at the right time. One example is from my days as a sales associate for a grocery store. Someone in another department unexpectedly quit. Realizing we would be short staffed, I offered to work double shifts a few days out of the week to fill the spot. While I was grateful for the overtime, the opportunity I saw was being able to work in a new department and learn another side to the business. This came in handy, because when I applied for a promotion, the extra experience game me an advantage over the other applicants.

Every opportunity for growth doesn't have to be financially motivated. It could simply be improving your skills and knowledge that could later be used to gain financial benefit. Imagine...

What if Michael Jordan didn't take advantage of the things people said was wrong with his game? What if Bill Gates never practiced on a computer before building his own corporation? What if Tiger Woods wouldn't have had the growth mindset when his dad was giving him the oppotunity to be great through the many obstacles he placed in from of him? What if I didn't take those extra shifts and gain that additional knowledge about the grocery business? And what if I never took what I learned about running an offline business, and applied it to building my first Internet business? I wouldn't be where I am today, and I certainly would have never met you through this post.

Success comes in many forms, but being able to adapt to your surroundings, and recognize opportunities to grow, either personally or financially, are two very vital factors in determining not only just how much success you'll have, but the levels of success you'll experience as well.

Take care and be blessed!

Ra

Thanks Man, I learnt a lot!!

Agubushmenyo:
Thanks Man, I learnt a lot!!

Glad I could help