When an opportunity comes your way, take it head-on
I lit my cigarette and sat in a corner during my break time. That very night, I was substituting for a guitar player who was sick and couldn’t make it to his nightly performance in a pub. Having not been playing in a live band for many years, I was exhausted even after our first set.
While I was enjoying my well-deserved break, someone approached me and said. “Teacher, do you remember me?” I looked up at him and realised he was the band’s sound engineer, but I had yet to learn who he was. “Sorry, you are?” He introduced himself and told me that I used to teach him many years back and that I was why he pursued music as a sound engineer.
After exchanging words for a few minutes, I was astonished to learn that he was a student of mine.
Long story short.
I used to teach music in government schools to a class of forty students. The company I worked for was an external vendor that sent music teachers to government schools to conduct music lessons during their curriculum time.
I clearly remembered what had happened, as if it had happened yesterday.
After class, my colleague and I went to our usual spot outside the school to have lunch and a smoke break before heading to another school to conduct music classes.
However, this particular student stopped me in my tracks and was curious about how he could pursue a career in the music industry after finishing school.
I stayed back in class and decided to help him by drawing a mindmap of the jobs he could pursue in the music industry. I spent almost an hour sharing my insights into the music industry, and with a smile on his face, I could see the glow of hope in his eyes. Despite not joining my friend for our usual lunch and smoke break and almost coming late for my next class, I felt a sense of purpose in me that was priceless.
That night, I cried a little inside as I hugged him and told him how proud I was to see him becoming who he was today. If I had ignored his call for help and left the school with my colleague that day, he might not have become who he was that night.
Sometimes, opportunities come pouring in our way when we least expect them, and through tough sacrifices and decisions, we either ignore them or face them head-on. Ignoring them will put a complete stop to whatever more immense opportunities or paths they will open up to, while choosing to face them head-on will open up the possibilities of bigger pictures.
Trust me, I am a sucker when it comes to opportunities showing up in front of me. In the past, I would always reject them and sneak back into my comfort zone, relieving a sigh of relief and carrying on with my day, not feeling a tat of regret whatsoever. In short, I was afraid to try something new or to explore uncharted territories.
As I learnt to embrace my rise and fall as a freelance photo and video creator serving businesses in recent years, I began to brave the unknown and dive head-first into any opportunities that came my way.
Was it terrifying?
Fuck, yes.
Was it really terrifying?
Nope.
I tend to overthink things. Whenever these opportunities show up, I create the worst-case scenario. Ironically, every opportunity that I braved through was a walk in the park. The best part of this practice is that these opportunities opened up a new world for me to explore and improve my skills and personality as a service provider.
Let me give you an example.
I was hired to photograph a fitness influencer and her buddy one morning during their usual track and field session. Although I have no experience in fitness photography and find waking up early in the wee hours disgusting, I took up the challenge and soldiered on.
It was one of the most rewarding sacrifices I have made. The photos were great, and we all had a good time. Today, most of my jobs involve shooting for fitness coaches and gyms. Through these jobs and experiences, I found ways to improve my skills as a fitness photographer and videographer.
If I had given up that opportunity or chosen to learn more about how to create the best fitness photos and videos, none of the rewards I have earned today would have occurred.
Due to my experience as a guitar player in a live band, I firmly believe in training and problem-solving on the job. Back then, we had to play customer requests or songs we had not heard of during our sets. I will need more than just learning a vast library of songs to prepare me for situations like these. It took me years of experience to learn and play songs on the spot.
Making or doing something is way better than being perfect, and there is no way we can be prepared for all sorts of challenges or situations that come our way. The solution is to take it head-on, solve the problem on the spot, rinse, and repeat. With this play practice, we will be more than ready to take it on whenever a similar opportunity or challenge appears.
In conclusion, our choices to take on the opportunity or move away from it will lay a foundation or impact on our lives and others.
Please do the right thing and do it with a smile.
:)
Thanks for reading!
