Originally posted on LinkedIn on Jan 30, 2024
A few months ago, I proposed the phrase “Opportunity Statement” to capture the idea that taking an intentional approach to unlocking our untapped potential is a worthwhile thing. (See “The Not-A-Problem Statement”).
Now, sitting down and planning for success is not a new idea. When you pick a college major and plan coursework, you’re doing this. You even prepped for that old chestnut (“where do you see yourself in five years?”) for your first job interview. At work, you are hopefully supported by a good manager who is helping shape your development path. None of these are bad things, but it would be an error to mistake this for your “Opportunity Statement”.
Let me explain. If we were turned away by our dream college, the product we worked to launch bombs, or the program we designed did not achieve the social good we hoped, there is some part of us that thinks: well that’s it, I failed, I was unsuccessful compared to [insert target of irrational envy here]. But that logic is flawed. As important as your qualifications (“paper”), job (“pay”) and advancement (“prospects”) are, paper, pay and prospects don’t define you. If that were true, you would only be worth what you produce. What an awful world that would be! And what ruin might ensue if we elevated a zero-sum game to such status? Materialism is just another -ism.
Your Opportunity Statement leads you down a different path, one in which it is within reach to be successful every day. Last year I walked into a drugstore, picked out my item and got in line. Ahead of me was an older gentleman. He hailed each cashier by name, sharing a word. In turn, each one came alive – reciprocating his greeting with a confident smile. I could tell that they felt seen. So much joy exchanged in the simple act of buying gum! On the way out, I asked him if he worked at the store, is that why he knew all those clerks. He said no, he’s retired. He worked as an administrator at the NYC Department of Sanitation. Scheduling garbage routes. But he likes people, and likes getting to know them. We talked for a bit longer before parting ways. For all my college training and decades of Wall Street experience, he likely made more of a difference in those two minutes of his day than I did all week.
Your Opportunity Statement is begging to be defined. In its way stands self-doubt, pain, confusion, recrimination, pride, failure, humiliation, shame, embarrassment, resentment, anger, and outrage. Every bad thing that ever happened to you wants you to believe that “you can’t”.
But you can. It takes time to work through the negative emotions. You’ll need friends who expect the best of you, and want the best for you, to help with that. And yes, you have to keep going when you stumble.
Most importantly, it’s not a zero-sum game: everybody around you wins the moment you get on the field.
J