MAKE THE MOST OF THE PRESENT MOMENT

“Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them.”— Orison Swett Marden

Most of us are always waiting for the perfect time and the perfect opportunity to begin our great work. We want to dot all the ‘i’s and cross all the ‘t’s. We want everything to be just right, before we are ready to make a dive.

And of course; it almost never happens.

As quoted above, Dr. Orison Swett Marden, the American writer said that for us to be strong, we must not wait for special circumstances to act; we must use everyday ordinary situations to our advantage.  We must never let what we can’t do stop us from taking the steps that are within our power. 

That is, our best hope for the alluring promises of the future lies solely in what we do with the apparently trifling opportunities surrounding us now.

Whatever is in your capacity at this moment, that’s where you can make a difference. That is your own opportunity. And, don’t be fooled, you must do the best you possibly can today—with the little you have—to put yourself in a better position tomorrow.

As we have seen, big success often starts with small, seemingly insignificant steps. So don’t underestimate the power of ordinary starts; the power of small steps; the power of doing something with the available opportunities in the midst of your present constraints.

Actually, it is relatively easier to start anything small, whereas it is very difficult to accomplish great things, if conditions must be perfect before making a move.

Therefore, we can take cue from the naturalist and essayist, John Burroughs when he said, 

“The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are.”

Inarguably, the truth of all this is evident in the life of Oprah Winfrey, who achieved phenomenal success against overwhelming odds. She is definitely one of the creative few that the basketball coach, John Wooden was referring to in his words as:

“The people who turn out best are those people who make the best out of the way things turn out.”

  

So, I hope we can all strive to be one of those inspiring examples by making the most of our current situations—whatever they are—and continuously doing the same, every moment of our lives.