The Mystery of Success: Growth Mindset with Embracing Opportunities Beyond Preparation
Opportunities are often said to come to those who are prepared, and good fortune is believed to favor the ready. However, the hidden truth is that opportunities do not exclusively visit those who are prepared. Innate shyness and a tender heart might sometimes prevent us from seizing opportunities when they arise. Yet, in some cases, opportunities don’t bypass us but instead, grab us by the lapels, presenting us with the fortune and opportunities we need. You can learn hear how embracing a growth mindset propels you towards success, making the most of opportunities beyond preparation and hard work
The Essence of Opportunity: Beyond Preparedness and hard work
Looking into stories of successful people written in books, these protagonists are portrayed as having worked tirelessly and prepared diligently for the chance at success, and such preparation invited the opportunities and fortunes that led to their success.
It’s widely acknowledged that success in business and life doesn’t come without effort and preparation. This notion has been ingrained in us by the media, books, and everywhere success is discussed, hypnotizing us into believing that effort is the fundamental preparation for success. Indeed, hard work can bring the ticket to success’s doorstep.
However, not making an effort doesn’t mean the ticket to success will pass you by. The formula for success we’ve been taught might be incorrect or possibly concocted with someone’s intention.
The Role of Luck: The Possibility of Chance Success
No matter how hard we work and prepare, if the luck that leads to success doesn’t come our way, all the effort, hardwork, time, and capital invested can end up not reaching the path of success. On the other hand, even without any preparation, encountering passing luck or randomly reaching out and grabbing success can easily lead us onto the path of success. These instances of serendipitous success are seldom shared in the media, books, or lectures.
My Small Success Stories: The Gift of an Unexpected Opportunity
Contrary to the dramatic success and twists often depicted in dramas, novels, and essays, I was born with a small clay spoon in my mouth.
However, as I grew up, even that modest clay spoon disappeared, and I had to forge my own spoon. My father became partially paralyzed due to illness, and our home was constantly worried about the next meal.
In the final year of elementary school, I became the student body president. A student from a wealthy family had been preparing for years to become president, attending public speaking schools and having his parents entertain teachers to secure his position. My family, struggling with difficulties, had never visited the school. Yet, I became the president, and the wealthy student did not.
Upon becoming president, I learned that the principal had changed the selection criteria to include academic performance, award history, and teacher feedback. To this day, I wonder how I was chosen. This is start of my small sucess story.
The Journey to Success: Between Preparation and Chance
As the student body president, I had to control about 900 students during the morning assembly with commands. It was later that I learned the grade head teacher should have trained me beforehand for this role. However, due to taking care of my sick father and our financial struggles, my mother couldn’t visit the school, and my parents’ inability to entertain the teachers led to the grade head teacher’s displeasure, denying me the training opportunity. After several embarrassing moments in front of the school assembly, the grade head teacher finally decided to train me. Not because I was favored, but because my mistakes could tarnish the teacher’s reputation. Despite the embarrassment and shame, I learned and performed my role well as the president afterward.
One day, the grade head teacher came to our class and asked me to read a book without explaining why. Out of shyness and nervousness, I read it quickly and inaccurately, holding my breath. It seemed to be a selection process for a student representative to read something at the graduation ceremony. The grade head teacher’s abrupt departure with a comment, “You won’t do,” left me more embarrassed than regretful for the missed opportunity. However, I ended up giving that presentation. How that opportunity came to me remains a mystery, influenced by external conditions unknown to me.
The Diverse Faces of Success: The Untold Stories beyond Growth Mindset
It seems the world does not always require readiness to grasp the forefront of opportunities. Or perhaps, unbeknownst to us, we have been preparing in some way. The daily life, not grandiosely named as “effort” or “preparation,” might have been preparing us for something. Or maybe there was no preparation at all. Instead, it could be that opportunities are training us and getting us ready to embrace the fortune of success.
Do not be ashamed of yourself or deem yourself too insufficient but stand tall and walk your path confidently. Where it leads might be unknown. Along the way, you may encounter connections you never knew would come. And perhaps, some opportunities might even tug at your lapel. However, one thing is clear: immense effort and preparation are not the only things that bring us the chance and fortune of success.
Many books written after interviewing and analyzing successful people do not contain success. They fail to specifically discuss how opportunities carrying the ticket to success approached them and how they utilized that ticket. What exists instead is just a well-crafted drama, embellished with stimulating morals and social values.
Opportunities that come with the label of success often sprout and grow in places mixed with filth, difficulty, invisibility, mess, and illegality. However, successful people feel ashamed to show their past to others. Thus, they erase their past and tailor their stories to be recognized as protagonists in a plausible “novel.” This might be the truth about the ticket to success and opportunities we need to know. Believe that your life itself, with all its hardships and messiness, is the foundation of success and growth. You already have the foundation needed for success. Opportunities and luck might be pulling at your lapel even now.
If you have experienced opportunities and luck in unprepared stages, please share your stories below.
