Life is an Opportunity

Excerpts from "Tools To Life"

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Jackhammer Tools

Life is an opportunity.
–Napoleon Hill

To begin this chapter I start you off with a true story that changed my life. I was a young guy working at Newark airport in New Jersey for an airline service company. There, I had the boss of bosses. He was an average-height, Jersey-Italian guy named Joe. He looked like Rodney Dangerfield, bulging eyes and all. When he got excited he would hold the bottom of his tie down with one hand and stroke it up and down with the other.

I was young and thought the world was mine. I graduated college at age nineteen with several degrees, and I thought I could do no wrong. So one day, I walked into Joe’s office and said, “Joe, we have a problem.” He turned to me, eyes popping out and, as his hands went for his tie, I knew I was in for it. He stood up behind his desk and blared at me, “Devlyn, ya fired!” I was in shock and couldn’t understand why I was fired for informing my boss about a problem. So I had to ask, “Joe, why am I fired?” Joe said, “Devlyn, a problem is a brick wall so high, so wide, so deep, so thick that you can’t get over it, can’t get around it, can’t get under it and can’t get through it. Devlyn, terminal cancer—that’s a problem you can’t do anything about. Everything else, as long as you can get over it or around it or under it or through, is a situation.” I saw his point and realized that Joe was a guy who always found an answer, always seized life and never looked at life as a problem. I understood that it was not me who Joe was firing but rather the carrier of a problem (who at that moment happened to be me). So I said meekly, “You’re right, Joe. We don’t have a problem, we have a situation." He calmly looked me in the eyes. "Devlyn you're fired."

Well, at this point I didn’t know which way was up. Feeling very defeated and unsure of anything I said, “Joe I don’t get it. I walked in thinking we had a problem, but you explained that as long as there is a way around, over, under or through it, it’s not a problem but a situation. Understanding there is something we can do, I correct myself and realize you are right; we don’t have a problem but a situation. Now I am still fired? WHY?” Joe walked around to the front of his desk. He was closer than I liked at that point. He was clearly in control, and I was insecure and confused. He said to me, “Well, Devlyn, you see, as long as you can get over or around or under or through the wall, you’re right, you don’t have a problem. But, you see, a situation is simply a report. What you have, as long as you can get to the other side of that wall, is an opportunity. That’s right, you have an opportunity to find out how to get to the other side of that wall.” He put his hand on my shoulder and with a firm presence pushed me out of his office door. “Now Devlyn, go find your opportunity.”

As I looked over my shoulder, I saw Joe return to his overly-energetic self, on the phone gestur­ing and being crazy Joe. What’s interesting in life is you never know what and who is going to affect you. I have the fortune to be able to look back and understand key moments. I have also had the fortune to experience many key moments. Joe didn’t know it then and neither did I, but he had forever affected my life. Without knowing why, I began to repeat the story over and over. Soon I began to repeat it as a lesson to people who worked for me and to people I thought needed a boost. What I am about to tell you is what I’ve told thousands. Many have told me over the years what a great influence I have had over their lives and how I should write a book. Well, here I am writing this course. The moments in my life have come together to make it possible for me to do so.

You see, in that moment my life was changed. No matter how bad things got, no matter how tough or miserable, I always smiled and found an opportunity. As long as you’re breathing and on this planet, you have options and you have abilities. After that day with Joe, I never looked at life as a problem. I always wake up in a good mood, and why not? I didn’t die in my sleep, and here it is morning. I have another day to play. I have another day on this planet to be me and try to make something of it. No matter how bad a thing is, there is always a way to see it as an opportunity.

Every adversity bares the seed of equal or greater opportunity.
–Napoleon Hill

I hope the terrible things in life have not or will not affect you to the extreme of being para­lyzed. You can wallow and look at life as if it’s over, or you can turn it around as an opportunity to learn how to use a wheelchair and inspire others. Your lover leaves you, maybe breaks your heart. It is a painful, terrible feeling to have, but it’s an opportunity for you to meet someone new who will be right for you. You lose your job. It can be an opportunity for you to find a better job, build a better career or pay more attention to your per­sonal life. As long as you can get over, around, under or through that wall, as long as you can get on the other side of the wall, you are still in the game. If you are in the game, you have an opportunity to play. So get off the bench in life, get in the game and find your opportunities.

We started this training section talking about opportunities, and I want you to start to find your opportunities. I want you to stop yourself every time you think you have a “problem.” Stop and ask, “Can I get to the other side of the brick wall?” If you can, then instead of thinking about the prob­lem, try and find the opportunity and get to the other side. Get on the other side by activating the positive thinking side of your brain. Do not stay stuck in a problem. Do not stay stuck in the negative side of your brain and the wrong side of the wall. Get to the other side and find your opportunity. Remember, sometimes the only opportunity is exercising self-control. If someone dents your car, you have the opportunity to exercise self-control, not lose your temper and make a huge problem out of it. Train your brain to always use the word “opportunity” and never use the word “problem.”