When Opportunity Doesn't Knock

DON'T WAIT FOR THE BALL TO COME TO YOU! IT NEVER WILL! GO AFTER IT!

My eight-year-old son participated in a week long soccer camp two weeks ago. I bounced between his younger sister's camp and his camp, and if there was one thing I observed that helped my son's game more than anything, it would had to have been those words that came hollering out of his coaches mouth, "Don't wait for the ball to come to you! It never will! Go after it!"

Those words stuck with me, too. How many times in life do we have big ideas and ambitions, and then we wait for the opportunities to come to us. They never will.


I see this in myself with writing, as well as in motherhood. I have ideas, plans, and ambitions, yet they are scary ventures. What if I do something wrong? What if I fall short? What if the end result is a failure?

I can have all of these great intentions, yet if I don't move forward with discipline and focus fueled by passion, these endeavors will ineviditablly fall a part before I ever see fruit come of my labor.

It Starts with Passion

What are you doing that is fueled by passion? What is it that God created you to do that makes you feel alive in the way that you are making a difference?

Some kids just don't like soccer. They don't have a passion for playing the game. Therefore, even if they go through all the motions and have the skill, there really is no energy or momentum behind their action. That is the same with us in our endeavors. We have to start with a passion. 


In his book, You Are A Writer (So Start Acting Like One), Jeff Goins reveals that his success in writing happened when he went back to the basics and started writing for the love of it. Before that, he states, he was only chasing results:

I watched other writers succeed in ways I hadn't, and I envied them. Eventually, I grew to resent them. Why? Becuase I wasn't doing what I wanted. I was writing, but I wasn't enjoying the process. I was only chasing results. So what did I do? I went back to the basics: writing for the love of it...As a result, something amazing happened: I started to have fun. And the quality of my work dramatically increased. I finally felt free to do what I loved. ~ Jeff Goins, You Are A Writer (So Start Acting Like One)

Get in the game

Are you just cheering others on from the sidelines, in what you are passionate about, or are you getting in the game yourself?

Some kids want to win, yet are happy sitting on the sidelines, hoping their teammates will pull through for them. They are okay with someone else doing the work for them. Yet, they'll never learn what it takes to be a winner. And neither will we cheering everyone else on from the sidelines. We have to get in the game.

Go after the ball {opportunity}

Are you waiting for opportunity to come to you or are you going after opportunity?

Some kids get in the game and then dance around the ball, too scared to actually make contact with it. Again they hope someone else will pull the weight and then will take credit for the win, but those wins will only be by chance for that kid. Same with us. We may get in the game and start dancing around a little, hoping opportunity will come. We play it cool and act like it's no big deal. Yet inside we're dying for our passions to meet opportunity, and they never will if all we do is dance around it. We have to make contact with opportunity.

But that's not enough. That is where the work begins. It will take hard, dedicated work because that's the point we'll have opponents coming at us from all sides – rejection, doubt, critics. And what will we do with that? Let them take the ball from us or will we claim it, even if we fail?

I get it. It's scary. I'm one of those who would rather dance around the ball than actually go for the ball. I think about it too much. And I tell myself I'll kick that ball the next time it comes to me.

But we have to stop thinking about it and do something. Not because we should act thoughtlessly, but because we've practiced enough that we don't have to think about it anymore.

If you do anything long enough, it becomes habitual. This is the goal for any passions in life: to wake up and do it without thinking. This can happen for writing, running, and anything else you want to do in life. It won't be easy, but it can become effortless. ~ Jeff Goins, You Are A Writer (So Start Acting Like One)

This may look differently for you than me. For me, as a mother of four, it may require waking up before my children and writing for 30 minutes everyday. I do wake up before my children, but I don't always write. I wait for that surge – that idea that will inspire me to write. Sometimes that works, but it can come at a cost. Because it's unpredictable. Because artists need more than creativity and inspiration to get better, to be heard, and to make a difference. We need discipline. 

How do I know this? What makes me qualified to share these tid-bits? Because I'm right there in this process with you. And I hope that the insights I gain along the way will help and encourage you, as well.

And because I believe it's vital that we realize there will be opportunities, but they won't come knocking. You can either go after an opportunity, or stand around thinking about the how's, the when's, and the if's. But, you'll miss it. Because they come and go that quickly.

Just like with the sport of soccer, the more disciplined a ball player you are, the better you'll become, and as a result, the more that ball will be passed directly your way. But that's because you'll have earned it. Your coach and team mates will know what you're capable of on that field because you've proved it and they trust your ability.

So get in there and be ready to go after opportunity when you see it! Do it – not because the crowd is screaming, expecting it from you. And don't not do it because the crowd is silent.

Do it because you love it! Because you have to. Because it's what you were created to do.

This is your moment.

Sharing with Finding Heaven, The Better Mom, The Wellspring,  Graceful, A Pause on the Path,  Works for me Wednesday, Women Living Well, Getting Down with Jesus, Life in Bloom, and Raising Arrows