The One Thing Successful People Never Fail To Do

There are some things that ridiculously successful people do differently to most of us and in this post I want to look at one of the most important ones. When I was looking for some new ‘knock, knock jokes’ to put into my children’s lunch boxes (they are of an age where they can’t get enough of them) I came across this one which inspired this post:

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

Opportunity.

Don’t be silly, opportunity doesn't knock twice.

Success in work and life often depends on spotting and grabbing opportunities as they present themselves. It’s an important skill, and one that many of the most successful and powerful entrepreneurs and business people of the world have turned into quite a lot of money.

But they didn’t necessarily start with all the privileges or capital or traditional know-how, but rather used their finely honed nose to sniff out opportunity to their best advantage.

"Business opportunities are like buses, there's always another one coming."-Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Enterprises

Richard Branson originally wanted to simply be a journalist and editor, but found he had to learn to become an entrepreneur to keep his magazine afloat. Since then, Branson has become the epitome of the savvy business man who knows how to spot an opportunity.

Branson’s calling card these days involves seeing a somewhat staid and rigid industry—like the airline industry or mobile phone industry—and flipping it on its head, making it cool, unique, different, and calling a very unique set of customers in who weren’t being served by the old guard.

Be like Branson: Rather than trying to create something entirely new, look for opportunities to improve on that already exists in a meaningful way.

"When you reach an obstacle, turn it into an opportunity. You have the choice."-Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

When Mary Kay Ash was denied a promotion, she took $5,000 of her life savings and turned it into one of the largest, most successful multi-level marketing companies ever at a time when female CEOs were still extremely rare.

Ash also made her rejection her passion: providing lucrative opportunities for women with no glass ceiling.


Be like Ash: Don’t let a setback sideline you. Instead, see it as impetus to create something new.