Some opportunities are big, noisy and easy to notice. If someone came up to you and offered you a million dollar check, that would certainly grab your attention. However, some opportunities, that are just as important, are relatively hard to see. These doorway opportunities are can completely change your life, but you need to know how to find them.

Think of a doorway. Until you open the door, everything on the other side is concealed. Unless you know from experience what lies on the other side, you can never be entirely sure. Doorway opportunities in life are similar in that you can’t see them until you actually take a first step.

Examples of Doorway Opportunities

My first Toastmasters meeting was a doorway opportunity. I had gotten the idea to attend Toastmasters on a whim. I didn’t know anybody in the club, but I was interested in improving my public speaking skills. After I went to my first meeting, I was hooked. The people were great and I learned a lot. I’ve since won two awards, participated in speaking contests and even been on the radio for my involvement in our club.

Doorway opportunities have a similar theme. They start off appearing unimportant or only mildly interesting. Then, when you start getting involved, they have a huge payoff. Toastmasters was just one such opportunity, I’ve had similar events from dropping a chance email to someone I didn’t know or setting up a new passive income stream for my business.

Are You Closing Doors Without Realizing It?

The idea that struck me hardest after seeing so many doorway opportunities was the realization of just how many I was missing. If a few small, insignificant seeming actions could lead to huge opportunities, how many doors was I unintentionally closing?

You might have dozens of doorways surrounding you right now, but you just don’t realize it. Because these opportunities don’t look like winning the lottery, it is easy to disregard them. To say you don’t have the time or energy to pursue them. If they weren’t in hiding, and really did look like million dollar checks, you probably wouldn’t have trouble finding the time and energy to grasp them.
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“Do you know where you going to? Do you like the things that life is showing you? Where are you going to? Do you know? “ - Diana Ross

We all have our goals and dreams, don’t we? But some of us seem to be more successful at achieving our goals than others. We can chalk it up to natural talent, the right connections or just plain dumb luck. Sometimes those reasons are valid, but more often than not, people who achieve their goals are people who chose the right goals in the first place.

If we really want to be successful in life, we have to choose the goals that are right for us. We are all unique individuals and our goals and our journeys through life should reflect that. If you want success in life, you need to choose goals that are congruent with your values, your strengths, your passions and your desired lifestyle.

Most of us go right to the lifestyle. “Hey, I want to drive a Jaguar and live in a big house like Joe Blow…he’s a lawyer, so I should become a lawyer, right?” Wrong. Joe has the gift of gab, he has a natural gift for debate and he loves to schmooze at the Country Club. You get nervous when you have to speak in public, you hate conflict and your idea of fun is taking quiet nature walks. Becoming an attorney was a natural choice for Joe. That doesn’t mean it will be for you.

So how do you choose? What do you need to do to make sure that your goals suit you, thus virtually guaranteeing yourself success? You need to ask yourself the following questions:
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“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain

We are all born with the gift of discernment; a talent to visualize what is obscure. Why then do we see people with incredible talent fail in achieving what their mind is capable of? The smartest amongst us who fail to throw off the bowlines and sail away from the safe harbor baffle me. They’re the intellect without persona to explore, dream, and discover possibly the greatest idea that amused their mind.

We all have our share of great ideas in the coffin, an idea that has never seen daylight. I’m intrigued to explore the psyche that works behind the death of a seemingly great idea. Let’s explore, shall we?

1. If it’s easy then it’s too good to be true

Often, great ideas are simple yet profound in nature. The person who invented the sticky pad must have felt this enigma. The best of intentions die when the desire that provoked the intention is lacking fire. Last year, I had an idea to start a GPO (Group Purchasing Organization) for the hospitality industry. The idea was simple - create an organization of hotel owners and purchase supplies to gain economy of the scale. One cliché I heard from others is that if it is so easy, why has it not been done yet? If my desire were not kindled with a firm belief, I’d have thrown a blanket over this great idea.

2. It will not work

There are ample unknowns staring at us when we throw off the bowlines. Our negative persona kicks in and takes over like a magician. We all have felt passion for a great idea suddenly taking turn for the worst. When I discussed this idea of creating a purchasing group with friends who own hotels, I expected a tidal wave of positivity and encouragement. Instead, I felt as if I was being punched square in the stomach when I heard, “Well, it won’t work.” Often we believe, either consciously or subconsciously, that staying the course is the best we can ever do. The truth can’t be any further than that.
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If you are reading this you probably think about life more than the “Average Joe” out there. This is a good thing, but you should also be aware that your thinking can potentially hold you back - even to the point of ruining your life. How so? The following are a few ways that have been particularly relevant to my own life.

Matters of the Heart

“You don’t always have to hold your head higher than your heart” - Jack Johnson

When it comes to love, most people have experienced the feeling of receiving different messages from their head and their heart. There is no right answer as to which one you should follow - ultimately it depends on the unique set of circumstances surrounding your situation. You should, however, be aware that sometimes you need to trust in your heart over what your head tells you.

A personal example from my own life is my relationship with my wife. She is Canadian and I am Australian, and we met at a time when a relationship was the last thing on my mind. I had just come out of a long term relationship and I was enjoying the freedom of traveling in a foreign country with no responsibilities. Upon meeting we quickly became very close, but I had to endure my mind telling me, “Don’t get too serious as there is no way this relationship will last”. It is true that we have had more obstacles to overcome than your typical couple, but we trusted in our hearts and have made the relationship work.

My point here is that the mind will often focus on reasons why a relationship won’t work rather than why it might. These may be valid reasons, but you should treat them very carefully and not be afraid to follow your heart on occasions.
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