The Elbert County tribune., 1906-10-25
MAKE FOR SUCCESS
CHANCES AND OPPORTUNITIES
IN LIFE.
Actions That Lead to Wealth and Po-
sition Almost Always a Mat
ter of DeveIopment-Time
Lost in Regrets.

When | was boy" said an elderly
gentleman who has done well in the
world. in discussing the contributing
elements to success. Il used to have
drummed into me by benevolent and
kindly disposed people. that IL L
wished to succeed | should take ad-
vantage of my opportunities.
And this same advice goes to-day.
and 1t is good advice, too. though 1
am of the opinion that too much of
this sort of treacle is worse IN its
effects than none at all. Some peo-
pie so all through life unconsciously
taking advice, and that Is about all
they do take. l have given this sub
ject of opportunities considerable
study from a practical standpoint,
and my results are these:
THE word opportunities should be
shifted to Chances There is vast
amount of distinction in this matter,
which / viii make clear to you.
Wherever you go, and in all callings
and stations in life. you will hear
men say: oh, If | had only taken
advantage of that opportunity | would
have been rich.' and lot OF similar
talk. which. as a matter of fact.
means nothing. II they really had
their lives to live over again they
would do precisely the same as in the
first instance.
AN opportunity is an evolution. 1t
is matter of develop ent. 1t is not
an initial instance or event. but 1t is
of subsequent development In other
words, 1t does not becoT1e an oppor-
tunity until the particular crisis
which makes Of 1t an opportunity has
elapsed or passed. Until that period
1t is merely chance.
This is not as refined distinction
as the casual reader would imagine.
A familiar illustration, in the realms
of speculation, as in the stock market.
Will suffice to prove this statement. A
man follows the market closely for,
say, three weeks During this time
the opportunity he had OF making
successful turns make you tired to
listen to. They have cone up every
day. IF he had bought this particu-
lar stock he would have done so and
so. If he had sold another stock he
would have made enough to have re-
tired. But as he didn't do either, he
goes around singing his :S,e of lost
opportunities
''As a matter of fact, almost pre-
cisely the same, or very similar 'op-
portunities' exist for him IN the en-
suing three weeks. But the distinction
is this: All in the future is but
cl,u t,r - 81,
the crucial moment in speculation
and In business transactions devel-
ops or shows what the opportunity
may have been. Until then 1t lies
hidden. and human foresight does not
discern 1t. II man makes move
he strikes at the chance and not at
the opportunity. Thus, II he sells his
stock short. and the turn of the mar
ket shows that he should have held
on to 1t, he cries about missing his
opportunity when the opportunity
could not possibly have been devel-
oped until he had taken whatever ac-
tion he was destined to take.
ut is the same where man moves
from one town to another to engage
in business, when subsequent develop
ments show that he would have bet
tered himself had he remained in the
first town. But he had to make the
move, and go through 1t all. to prove
that there was really an opportunity
for him in the first place, and he
couldn't have developed this fact, or
Opportunity as he calls it, unless he
had actually made the move in ques-
tion.
And thus many men pass their
lives regretting what they term lost
opportunities when they had simply
been confronted by chances, and sub
sequent developments showed that
these chances were unfavorable to
them when actually taken. The man
who really 'grasps an opportunity. is
he who discerns the possibility of a
chance evolving or eliminating in
what subsequently reveals itself to be
an opportunity. If men, especially
those who are called the unfortunate
sort. will digest this illustration and
what 1t proves. they will save them
selves a lot of retrospective, unhap-
py thoughts. They will also be en-
abled to discern in future steps and
business transactions what the pos
sible chances Of their acts may be,
and will thus develop what we are all
looking for and so few fiad-so-called
golden opportunities