You know the knock where you look at whoever is sitting with you in the living room, and for a split second there’s total silence as you both look at the door. Is that the Pizza guy or are we just hearing things?
It’s funny because in that moment neither of you can move. The sheer disbelief that the pizza you just ordered thirty minutes ago is at your door paralyzes the both of you.
Now imagine if after one knock he was gone? Imagine instead of pizza places tagging slogans like “thirty minutes or less”, they said, “One knock and we’re gone”. People everywhere would have their ears to the door waiting for that pizza, I would assume in the world we live in today some would have a red carpet out with their door already opened.
This scenario happens every day all over the planet. The pizza guy represents opportunity. When someone coined the phrase, “Opportunity knocks” they left out the most important part. Opportunity knocks but then it moves on. Opportunity doesn’t wait for you to get ready it presents itself and then in a blink of an eye goes on to the next door.
We’re so obsessed with finding the perfect time for things. What we don’t realize is there is no perfect time there’s just time, and if you understand the concept of it you know that eventually time runs out. Here today gone today! I can see Apollo Creed (if you don’t know the reference we’re not friends anymore) yelling at Rocky “There is no tomorrow”. Apollo was right; tomorrow isn’t guaranteed so why wait for all the stars to align before going after what you want.
The second part of opportunity is being ready when it comes your way. You can order pizza all day long but if you don’t have the money to pay for it you’re not getting any. Hard work is what prepares you for that knock at the door. You’re not entitled to anything in this world. I tell the kids I train and the people I speak to that they have to work for what they want.
That work is going to mean being in the gym on a Friday night while everyone else is partying. That work is coming home late just to wake up early the next day. It takes sacrifice, it takes discipline, and it takes belief that when that knock on the door does come you’ll open it before you hear a sound, money already in hand. You paid the price for it already. Don’t get ready stay ready; you never know when that knock will come.
