Some opportunities are big, noisy and easy to notice. If someone
came up to you and offered you a million dollar check, that would
certainly grab your attention. However, some opportunities, that are
just as important, are relatively hard to see. These doorway
opportunities are can completely change your life, but you need to know
how to find them.
Think of a doorway. Until you open the door, everything on the other
side is concealed. Unless you know from experience what lies on the
other side, you can never be entirely sure. Doorway opportunities in
life are similar in that you can’t see them until you actually take a
first step.
Examples of Doorway Opportunities
My first Toastmasters meeting was a doorway opportunity. I had
gotten the idea to attend Toastmasters on a whim. I didn’t know anybody
in the club, but I was interested in improving my public speaking
skills. After I went to my first meeting, I was hooked. The people were
great and I learned a lot. I’ve since won two awards, participated in
speaking contests and even been on the radio for my involvement in our
club.
Doorway opportunities have a similar theme. They start off appearing
unimportant or only mildly interesting. Then, when you start getting
involved, they have a huge payoff. Toastmasters was just one such
opportunity, I’ve had similar events from dropping a chance email to
someone I didn’t know or setting up a new passive income stream for my
business.
Are You Closing Doors Without Realizing It?
The idea that struck me hardest after seeing so many doorway
opportunities was the realization of just how many I was missing. If a
few small, insignificant seeming actions could lead to huge
opportunities, how many doors was I unintentionally closing?
You might have dozens of doorways surrounding you right now, but you
just don’t realize it. Because these opportunities don’t look like
winning the lottery, it is easy to disregard them. To say you don’t
have the time or energy to pursue them. If they weren’t in hiding, and
really did look like million dollar checks, you probably wouldn’t have
trouble finding the time and energy to grasp them.
Sniffing Out Doorways
It’s easy to miss doorways, but what can you do about it? You can’t
just quit your job and spend your day randomly wandering around. Even if
the doorways do exist, how do you filter them from the time wasting
piles of garbage?
Adsense:
Although there are no rules for detecting a doorway (otherwise they’d
be easier to spot) I’ve noticed a few trends that tend to create
doorways. If you can look for these markers, it is easier to separate
the doorway opportunities from they dead ends:
Look outside your comfort zone. Ideas that scare you
a little are better doorways than ones within your expertise. The
reasoning is simple, if you were comfortable, you would have already
taken advantage of any underlying opportunities. If there is some
slight fear or uneasiness you probably haven’t opened any doors yet.
Search for ideas that pique your interest, but you don’t know anything about.
Look for ideas that make you curious. If you don’t know anything about
the subject, that’s a sign that you might be looking at the tip of an
iceberg.
Watch for invitations. Recently I was walking
through our campus when I noticed an advertisement for an improv comedy
group’s open house. This is exactly the kind of doorway opportunity I
keep my eyes open for, so I made a note of the date before moving on. I
wonder how many people would ignored the event to do something safe and
predictable like watching television?
Finding the Motivation to Knock on Doors
If you lead a busy life (who doesn’t?) then finding these doorways
can be difficult. It is so much easier to just stick within your
routine. Especially if you’re finishing your day exhausted and stressed,
it is hard to find the energy to go out and spend time on an activity
that may give no returns back.
Part of this problem is just perception. If you saw every potential
doorway opportunity as a million dollar check, I’m sure you wouldn’t
have trouble finding the time. But because these doorways are closed to
you until you take the time to knock, it is easy to push them aside.
Another part of the problem is that the doorways just aren’t loud
enough. If you don’t have some system for saving them, they are often
drowned out in the noise. If I hadn’t made a point of going to that
first Toastmasters meeting, everyday life would seem far more urgent.
Because doorways won’t yell, you need to find ways to make them louder.
My solution is to keep a list of potential doorways whenever I come
across one. Keeping a list isn’t the same as doing something about it,
but it’s a start. With a list you can make sure that the chance email
from a stranger or advertisement for an open house isn’t lost. Regularly
reviewing your list keeps these activities in your mind, so when you
finally have an opening in your schedule, you can take advantage of
them.
Doorways aren’t loud or impressive, but they can open you to something that is.
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