Many times people do not succeed in life because they run away from challenges to avoid inconveniences. They want to be safe, comfortable and free from danger. Many people take their holidays in Dubai, Hong Kong, Paris, Jerusalem, London and New York because they feel these places are comfortable and safe enough. Very few people would plan to go for leave to places which they think are not comfortable and safe enough but provide important life lessons. Unfortunately profitable opportunities are found in situations challenges. There is stiff competition for profitable opportunities in places which are very developed resulting in lower profit margins. This explains why people leave their comfortable places in the western world to come Africa to look for greener pastures. Africa has plenty of challenges which provide plenty of profitable opportunities for people who take manageable risks.
Success involves risk taking
For you to succeed in life you have to take some risks. First you have to move around looking for challenges facing mankind which provide business opportunities for you to exploit. I remember when mobile phone companies first came to Africa they found a continent without mobile phones and with poor communication services. They saw business opportunities in the communication challenges which Africa was facing at the time. The risk taking of the first few mobile companies helped to open the market for more investors. It is still a long way to circulate the Africa market with mobile phones and internet services. As of now penetration rates for mobile phones and internet services are still quite low hence creating a lot of business of opportunities for investors.
You have to look for opportunities in order to succeed
It is up to you to either look for opportunities or just fold your hands and wait for heavens to drop success for you . It is not possible to attract opportunities to yourself from the comfort of your home or background, you have to look for them. You have to take an adventure in search for opportunities. Adventures are normally made to places where you expect to come face to face with challenges. It is the people who enjoy discovering what the world has to offer who tend to succeed in life. In process of looking for opportunities you come face to face with challenges which you have to learn to overcome. In the process you will accumulate life lessons which are not taught to you by anyone but you discover them as you move along in your journey of life.
Opportunities and challenges are different faces of the same coin
There is no way you can love success and yet you do not want to take risk and solve challenges. Success comes from solving challenges. One side your business is making for you and their other side it battling with overcoming the daily challenges. Therefore you cannot attain success unless you develop the determination to overcome challenges. Opportunities and challenges are in fact two of the coin which you cannot see at the same time.
Time of the essence in exploiting opportunities
Many opportunities do not last for long and you have to act fast in exploiting them in order to reap the benefits. There are opportunities and challenges created by seasons like summer, winter, autumn and spring. There is no way you can overlook seasons if you are in a season driven business. You cannot stock clothes for winter when summer is approaching. It is extremely important therefore to estimate the time within which the opportunity will be available for viable exploitation.
Author
John Muhaise Bikalemesa
Director: Big Drum Advisory Services Limited
john.muhaise@bigdrumassociates.com
