Opportunity isn’t by accident but hard work!

I truly believe that opportunity knocks at the door of all people, yet the sad fact is that few are willing to get down and dirty and do work so their life ends up being on hold. As the new year begins to unfold before all of us my hope is that I and those around me would open our eyes to see the many opportunities at our finger tips. Some of these are obvious and waiting for us to ‘dive in and make it happen’. Others are going to have to put on their overalls and do real sweat breaking work to discover the new paths that lie before them in 2017. Wake up and accept the fact that there aren’t any short cuts and easy alternatives to real work.

Last month I was privileged to be part of a group of Grand Canyon University graduates. These young adults have invested themselves over the last 2-3 years with some of our youth that have grown up in difficult heart breaking circumstances. I have learned so much through these young adults that have developed a heart to help, learn about our kids and teens and then the most important aspect is to do something! It amazes me to see someone who is out of their element, dealing with hyper emotionally unstable teens, choose to befriend and take risks to better understand a totally different world. The result is that all of us have learned together, wept together and are better off because of seizing the opportunity before us!

I’m not going to bash the millennial generation growing up, which are these grads, but reflect on the fact that as a teen in the 60’s I was just as quick to look for the easy way out and definitely avoid hard work. Yet, one of the best lessons in my life was between finishing a Biochemistry degree and going to grad school. I had the opportunity to learn how to be a concrete finisher. I was forced into a totally different world of working in a multi-cultural context and then got blisters, screamed at and sweat ‘like a pig’. The bonus, was that I learned a trade, made at least twice as much as an entry level high tech person in Silicon Valley and developed a love of difficult cultures and an affinity for doing crazy stuff.

I know that this quote from Thomas Edison reveals his heart in choosing to never give up in his pursuit of a light bulb that would work. Much as these interns and now college grads would choose to never give up on a rowdy kid or rebellious teen that others would view as being impossible.

Time to put on our overalls and make it happen! (Big thanks to our GCU grads, Shanelle, Elena and Aundre!)