“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.”
Bobby Unser
Today’s blog concerns something fundamental yet often forgotten – the difference between opportunity and success.
For years, I have preached about planning as a tool for achieving goals and, in turn, success. There is nothing unique about that. It’s just common sense. However, the key to achieving goals – and ultimately success – is taking responsibility and seizing the opportunities offered to you every day, no matter what role you play within an organization. Law firms are a collective of people working together to serve clients well and profitably. Collective success is more likely when everyone is pulling in the same direction.
Individual success is different. Some take the view that it is the responsibility of the organization, group, or people for whom one works to help ensure their progress and ultimate success. And to some degree, that’s true. That’s part of good management.
But if any among us want to be truly successful in our own right, the accurate measure is whether we take the opportunities we’re given every day to excel. You are given those opportunities every day. What do you do with them?
Here are some concrete tips for taking on your individual responsibility to succeed.
When given an assignment, do you do it and leave it at that, or do you learn from it? Do you write down what you learned? Do you ask how you did and what you could have done better? Do you ask a client how you did? When you meet a client for the first time, do you follow up with a phone call or an email thanking them for the introduction and offering to help again? With established clients, how often do you go out of your way to thank them for their business? When you look at role models or those who have achieved the success you hope to attain, do you wonder when you’ll be handed that success or what that person did to rise to such heights? Do you ask them how?
Every assignment, every introduction, every chance to write or speak, and every networking event is an opportunity. Opportunities exist within your circles of friends, your community, local organizations, and professional associations. What you do with those opportunities is entirely your choice – your responsibility.
So, the message in this blog is straightforward: opportunity comes with every assignment and every event, and your success is in your hands. Embrace your opportunities every day, rise to the occasion, and you will succeed. Carpe diem.
