When life presents opportunities, explore them while you can.
I recently learned that a dear friend was diagnosed with cancer. While this was unexpected, when does someone ever expect that? He has been a good friend for nearly twenty years – since middle school. While such news is frightening to anyone at any age, we are both still very young.
He was seemingly the healthiest person that I know. I took him into the gym after practice one day when we were younger. It was his first time ever doing any strength training, and he could barely move for the next week. Fast forward to the present, and he is fitter and stronger than I ever was. He now owns his own personal training business – a far cry from the ninety-pound high school teenager he once was.
My friend is one of the best people anyone could ever hope to know, as is his entire family. He has an incredible wife and two wonderful young children by his side, and we are all confident that he will tackle this challenge and win, just as he has with many other life challenges.
In light of this news, the one thing that has become abundantly clear is the need to maintain perspective in life. This also holds true in business, entrepreneurship and leadership. We fight for many things like they are life or death. We should always fight with passion, enthusiasm and earnestness, while recognizing that most things do not involve life or death consequences. It is imperative to remember this, and have true perspective on our challenges and how we approach them.
It’s important not to be complacent. Just simply smelling the flowers is a waste of the gift of health. Take action, because having the ability to be active is the single best gift. We must strive to achieve greatness in all that we do, because we are fortunate enough to have the ability to do so. I always instill in my team, and myself, to take advantage of the opportunities in front of us. Sometimes the best opportunity is just having the ability to find or create opportunity. We should not forget or lose focus on our careers, entrepreneurial initiatives or passions of any type, because we never know what life can bring. Instead, we must embrace that we are fortunate enough that growing an organization, chasing a dream, working on your jump shot, your singing voice or craft of any sort – is the challenge in front of you. Take advantage of the opportunity to focus on opportunity, and remember to keep perspective as you go forward.
Founder, The Anthem Group