You have to ask for it

You have your dreams, your desires and your aspirations. Don’t you wish that God would provide you with the time, the place and that magical moment when you could make all those come true?

If so, then work now and work hard, and be constantly vigilant so that when the opportunities come, you’ll be ready to grab them.

I’ve been speaking and conducting training for years, and I’ve realized that I’m not so young anymore. This has become more evident recently. Years ago, in my lectures and seminars for fresh graduates and entry-level employees, young people would come to me to introduce themselves as schoolmates or friends of my eldest, Bryan. A few years later, young people would come to me telling me that they’re batchmates with my second child, Hannah. A couple of years later, young people would come to me telling me that they’re the classmates of my youngest daughter, Rachel. The thing is, my eldest and my youngest are a decade apart! And just a few days ago, I spoke to the student OJTs of a telecom company. The oldest among them is younger than my youngest!

My goodness, time flies by so fast!

As I reflected on this, I realize that God has provided me with a lot of opportunities, many of which I grabbed and many of which I let go. And when I think of those that I grabbed, I realize that the reason I did so was simply because I was prepared for it.

For 12 years, I was averaging some 120 talks in a year. On many occasions, I paid for my own plane fare and hotel lodging just to pursue what I love most: teaching! All those talks were offered pro-bono no matter what company or institution it was for. I simply loved the work, and I didn’t bother with the money aspect of it. Little did I know that in doing all those talks, I was honing, shaping and excelling in the craft. And when the opportunity came a few years ago for me to go professional, I was ready. I grabbed the opportunity. And guess what? God has given me the desires of my heart – to do what I love doing while getting paid doing it.

During a Q&A at Vanderbilt University, the legendary musician Billy Joel made one of his biggest fans’ dreams come true. Lifelong Billy Joel fan Michael Pollack, also a piano player, bravely asked if he could “accompany” Joel in a performance of “New York State of Mind”. Pollack told Joel it was his favorite among his songs. Joel paused briefly, thought about it and then nonchalantly replied, “Okay.” The crowd erupted in cheers at his answer.

After a very brief interaction, Pollack was playing music with his childhood idol. Pollack said, “From there, it was just…foggy. It’s hard to remember… I just started playing. I had practiced it a little bit thinking maybe I’d get the chance to go up… I kind of lost myself playing. Then afterward he said to me… He said that I was great, where are you from… and I said, ‘I’m a Long Islander just like you.’ He was like, ‘Cool.’ Then I walked off, and that was it… It was probably the greatest moment of my life, up to date.”

This is from a video clip which has gone viral. Michael is now a celebrity with more than two million views and growing.

Michael asked and prepared himself for the opportunity. The question is, are you preparing for the opportunity and doing some ground work? If not, everything becomes just wishful thinking, isn’t it?

And when opportunity comes, grab it. Opportunities don’t invite people; they just want to be grabbed… But only when you’re ready.

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