Editor-in-Chief Job Opening: An Opportunity of a Lifetime, Or Not?

I recently had what some would refer to as the opportunity of a lifetime. My blog led to an Editor-in-Chief’s job offer. Read about it here. I turned it down. You can read why here.

I struggled with the decision – something foreign to me because I can usually decide almost immediately if an opportunity is right for me.

As I wrote in my 5/8/07 post, “I've learned a few things about myself in this process [the process of passing on a major opportunity]”, which I promised to expand upon in a future post. So, here goes.

What Passing on the “Opportunity of a Lifetime” Can Teach You

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Don’t be a schizophrenic entrepreneur: As I said in the aforementioned post, I’m somewhat of a schizophrenic entrepreneur. Meaning, I like to try many different things.

But, this will get you nowhere fast. While there’s no harm in trying many different things, if you want to achieve real success, sticking with one thing and building it will get you there much faster.

Many freelancers/entrepreneurs/small business owners fail at this one simple thing. They flit from one thing to the next – hoping the next idea will be “the one,” never giving their all to any one thing – over a period of time.

Think of it this way, if trickling water – over time -- can reduce a mountain to pebbles, why would you assume it couldn’t make you successful?

Form a plan, work it consistently and watch your business grow. That's the real key to success.

Fear inhibits truth: What I mean by this is, I was so afraid of giving up “the opportunity of a lifetime,” that I failed to see (at first), that it wasn’t the right opportunity for me.

Having a life plan will go a long way towards helping you to recognize what’s right for you when opportunities are presented.

Life presents many detours along the way. To avoid getting sidetracked, ask yourself if the opportunity at hand fits in with your long-range life plans. If not, pass. UNLESS, your life goals change.

And this is fine – just make sure the change is something you want because it will lead to greater happiness, not because of the opportunity at hand. Why? Because if, for whatever reason, the opportunity doesn’t pan out, you still have your life plan to contend with.

Even if an opportunity only takes you a little farther down that road, at least you’ll be a little closer to your end goal – not off on a detour that takes you farther away from it.

Getting older is a blessing: I don’t know if this holds true for everyone, but I delight in getting older. I see my truth more clearly. Hence, I’m able to choose wiser what is right for me – not my family, my friends, or my professional associates.

Being comfortable in my own skin, which for me, has come with age, has made me treasure and value me – a lot more than I ever did before.

When you think that the earth is billions, perhaps trillions of years old, and we get 70, 80 or 90 years on it – if we’re lucky – you want to make every decision count – towards happiness.

The next time an opportunity of a lifetime – or any opportunity comes your way – as the photo indicates, "Don't let the situation confuse you." Reflect on your truth and choose the path that is right for you. For, you can’t make anyone else in your life happy until you give that gift to yourself.

TOMORROW'S POST: How to Divide Your Marketing Budget for Maximum Success

EXCERPT: I was listening to the Dave Ramsey show on the radio one day. The show’s focus that day was on small business owners. a caller asked a really interesting question that I think freelancers could learn from. He said that he had set his marketing budget for the year, and he wanted to know how to spend it for maximum effect.

His query went something like this: “I have $12,000 to spend for fiscal year 2008. I want to know if I should spend $1,000/month for 12 months, or if I should spend more on special deals during a certain period, or if I should pump up our marketing during our busy season?”
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