Richard Branson – Take the opportunity
Quote
“If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!” – Richard Branson
Interpretation
Often time, people fear to take an amazing opportunity. They believe that by taking a new opportunity, they are taking more risks. Moreover, there will be more struggle, more adventure, and new things that you have never seen or done. It is mysterious and you will need to make changes in order to adapt yourself to that new environment.
As Richard mentioned in his quote, those are the opportunities that you have to take.
1. Take the chance
Sometimes, I believe the world is really unfair because some people are given multiple amazing opportunities that they decline by fear while others would die to get even a slight change in their life. Never refuse a great opportunity that aligns with your objectives. The first attempt is always the hardest and might make you wonder if what you did was the right choice. When you take a chance, you are not sure to win but you have some hope that you could win. This is already part of winning. The more you take a chance, the more you have a chance to win.
2. But if I fail? What should I do next?
Some people would ask me: What if I fail? And I would ask, what if you do not try? If you do not try, you already failed. And then they would ask: What am I going to do after I fail? The simple answer would be to go back to your previous job, look at what went wrong that cost you to fail and try again. It might take some time to adapt to the new opportunity and probably few attempts, but eventually if you believe in it and enjoy it, you will get there. And failure is part of life, you cannot win all the time unless you cheat or never try anything. Failure is just a learning curve that you need to take in order to improve yourself.
3. What Can you gain?
Stop thinking about failure and focus on what you can gain. If you can double your salary, work half the time and get the same lifetime, why would you not try? Do not fear what you have to learn but dream on what you can achieve by taking the opportunity. You already did the hard work to be trusted by others. All the hard work is done. If people trust you can do something, it means they believe you will do it well.
In conclusion, a great opportunity does not appear often. If you do not take it when you can have it, you lower the chance to be more successful in the future. So take the opportunity, do not fear the failure, and look at what you could become or gain if you succeed in your new opportunity.
