Become an "Opportuniac"

TRANSCRIPT OF VIDEO:

And the fact that you chose to come, and the fact that you're still sitting here after forty-something minutes, tells me one thing: that you all take advantage of opportunities. So I declare everyone in this room an “opportuniac.”

You are an opportuniac.

OPPORTUNIAC.

That comes from the Mensah dictionary.

Now you're probably saying, “what does that mean, Albert?” This is what Opportuniac means—a person, such as you, that takes advantage of opportunities. But where there are no opportunities, they just don't complain. They don’t give up. They don't quit. They don't blame other people. They create their own. That's an opportuniac.

I stood up here, ladies and gentlemen, I tell you my story.  I saw a cinema with a whole village and one guy said, “I want to go live there,” and everybody said, “it's not possible.” So I said, okay, I'll do my part, the universe will do its part, and I got a scholarship.

Seven and a half years ago, I worked for the phone company in Seattle, Washington. And I come home, I tell my wife, “honey, I quit my job.”

Now my wife, mind you, was a freshman when I met her. Best time to catch your wife, guys! When you're a freshman, I was a sophomore, so I think this lady knows me really well. So I come home and I said, “honey, I've quit my job.”

She said, “What are you going to do?”

I said, “I'm going to be a professional speaker.”

Haha! She said, “Have a seat.” (And guys, when your spouse calls you by your last name, you know it's bad news, right?) She said, “Mensah?”

I said, “Oh, here it comes...”

“I have three reasons why you are not going to make it as a professional speaker. Go back to work.”

“What are the reasons?”

“One, you're not from this country.”

I said, “I know that.”

“Two, you have an accent.”

I said, “I'll be the first speaker with an accent then.”

She said, “that brings me to my third point—no one in America will pay you a penny to listen to that accent. They can't even hardly hear you!”

Today, she says, “Honey, the only reason why you made it is because of your accent!”

You must continue to be an opportuniac to survive in this ever-changing world that we live in. Those laws and all those issues that you think are issues, they're not going nowhere, ladies and gentlemen. You know that, I know that. Don't complain about it.

It's like being on a plane and it is turbulence. You can't go to the pilot and say, “Dude, can you slow down this thing?” Nothing you can do but just sit there and enjoy it. It's not going anywhere.

You have to be an opportuniac. Now I'm not just going to stand up here and preach to you because you know what opportuniac means and you know what to do with it.



Nine Ways to Stay Focused on Your Goals

Once upon a time, a very hungry hyena went out on the Tanzanian plains to hunt for food. He came to a branch in the bush road where the two paths veered off in different directions. He saw two goats caught in the thickets at the far end of the two different paths. With his mouth watering in anticipation, he decided that his left leg would follow the left path and his right leg the right path. As the two paths continued to veer in different directions he tried to follow them both at once. Finally he split in two.

The lesson of this tale?  Get focused and stay focused! Do you know the easiest way to do that? While you may not like my answer, I’m going to give it to you as bluntly as I can: stop listening to others. That means turning off the television news, stop reading the newspaper, and when your friends start to make disparaging comments about the economy or the lack of opportunities and jobs – ask them to stop the negative ‘chatter.’

Your intention is to walk your own path; the one you’ve chosen because you feel it is the best one for you. Listening to others only causes you to second-guess your own brilliant thinking, and you’ll find yourself with too many paths in front of you. You’ll become separated from your own inner being – much like the hyena in the story, you’ll find that you’re unable to make the right choice.

Getting Focused

It’s true: getting focused requires mental toughness. I’ve got 9 suggestions to add to the one noted above.

1. Listen to the experts. Read biographies and listen to audio programs telling of winners who have overcome tremendous obstacles and setbacks to become successful. Check out success stories in magazines and the Internet. You’ll find that they are people just like you – if they can achieve their dream, so can you.

2. Cultivate patience, pacing, and persistence. You don't need to go through emotional or physical pain to succeed. The concept of “no pain, no gain” is a myth. When you realize that failure and handicaps have not prevented winners in any area of life, you gain more confidence and courage to pursue your own dreams.

3. "What next?" thinking. Give yourself solution-oriented feedback when solving your problems. Don't dwell on what went wrong. What are you going to do about it? Spend your energy on moving forward, finding an answer.

I keep a daily journal where I answer these questions: What did I accomplish today? What went well? What could I have done better? How do I feel about my progress? Are my goals making me reach, or am I just going through the motions? Am I focused? And the million dollar question: Are my goals my own?

4. Get comfortable with the unfamiliar. Make it a part of your daily routine to do something totally different than what you normally do. Work out at a different gym. Drive to work using a different route. A number of small changes will help you to be better prepared to handle diverse environments with greater calm and confidence.

5. Protect your body and your health. Teach yourself and your children to use positive self-talk about fitness and personal health. Too much attention is paid to minor aches and pains, in our society, as if there's value to not feeling good. Break that habit!

6. Don't be a victim of ads and fads. Make sure the thing that impresses you meets your criteria, and satisfies your concerns. Mental toughness doesn't mean going it alone, with lose-weight-fast or get-rich-quick schemes. Mental toughness means learning from those who have been successful, not trendy.

7. Spend your time with people who have already achieved their goals or who are dedicated to goals similar to yours. Avoid associating with people who have the same unresolved problems or who are frustrated by their lack of achievement. A strong community of like-minded people gives you motivation, support, and purpose for succeeding.

8. Focus on desired results. Winners dwell on the rewards of success. Losers focus on mistakes and failure. Do what's necessary NOW. Be in the present. Then you don't have to worry about what happened yesterday or what's going to happen tomorrow. Thus, two-thirds of your worries disappear.

9. Expect the unexpected. You can't control what nature and others do. You can anticipate what MAY happen, and prepare for them as best you can. You can also control your response to what happens.

Albert Mensah
http://www.albertmensah.com/

Is There an Age Limit on Success?

Is there an age limit on success? Is there an age where you know you have either failed or made it? Some part of society seems to think so and hence we get many stereotypical depictions of seniors and retired homeowners living in loneliness and misery. We must arise above this negative imagery!

Aging is nothing but a "fact." Some people view it as an obstacle; some people view it with contempt and despair. However, it is a fact that people age and nothing more. It is not indicative of a person's value or of their ability to accomplish something great. When we age, we also grow in experience, wisdom and intelligence. After the burden of youth, we all tend to settle down and have more time and more effort to devote to our important pursuits.

Rather than view aging as the end, or the finish line, you should view it as just another obstacle to overcome. In fact, some people do not even view it in a negative light. They view it as a pleasure, a time to relax, and a peaceful time. If you are retired then you no longer have the obligation of raising children or working on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, people become so accustomed to the old lifestyle, whether or not they enjoy it, that they find themselves at a loss as to what they should do. This may be how you feel sometimes. Resist such negative thinking and instead ponder on the possibilities that wait for you.

You could use all this free time to achieve some of the dreams you once had. Whether these dreams are small or grand doesn't really matter. What matters is that you commit yourself to fulfilling them. You don't have to spend the rest of your life training for these dreams. You have already been taught a lifetime of experience. Use what you know to pursue your greatest ambitions.

If there are obstacles that stand in your way then accept them as obstacles, but do not let them destroy your mission. Find ways to sidestep these obstacles. Find ways around them and keep moving ever forward. You will never regret having taken a chance and failed but will always regret having let opportunity pass you by. This lesson becomes clearer as we mature in life.

Use your time and resources to achieve something monumental. There is no age limit of success. If you are motivated to take action then you can accomplish anything!

Albert Mensah is a Certified Speaking Professional. Originally from the impoverished African nation of Ghana, Albert travels the country speaking, motivating and inspiring. He has performed as a keynote speaker for companies including Allstate Insurance, Starbucks, Nordstrom, Boeing, John Deere Corporation, Wells Fargo and more. Visit AlbertMensah.com to learn more.