Sometimes Opportunities Are Meant To NOT Be Taken

A couple months ago I was presented with an opportunity that many people would think I’m absolutely crazy not to take.

A very high leadership position at a $26 million (will likely surpass $40 million this year) company that is at the top of their industry and has some of the best marketing minds around right there in the office. If you are in the internet marketing space… you have most definitely heard of this company.

The position was pretty darn good pay (six figures w/ benefits, bonuses, etc.) … a great work atmosphere… a great location… and would have been world class networking and learning.

This opportunity came at me through a reference from a close contact (and friend) of mine in the internet marketing industry… and I’m completely flattered that he has the confidence in me to put his reputation on the line by recommending me for the position… and that the CEO of the company had the confidence in me to go the length with me through the interview process.

You know what, opportunities are funny.

Right off the bat the word "opportunity" is a positive word to most people. Most people look at opportunities as something for the taking… if it’s an opportunity it must be something that you desire… otherwise it wouldn’t be an opportunity. Right?

Up until this opportunity I only had one definition of opportunity in my mind. If an opportunity is awesome… you take it. If you don’t take it… it fades away and doesn’t have the chance to benefit you a whole lot in the future.

The Struggle…

However, when I was pondering about taking this opportunity and moving my wife and I across the country I really had a struggle.

I mean… this is a once in a lifetime job offer (at least that’s what my 25 year old mind told me) that would give me great experience, excellent connections, and possibly a head start in my career. On the other hand, I’m an entrepreneur and am seeing my businesses steadily grow toward my goals… and that of course would be put on the back burner if I were to take the position.

To help get some perspective on this life changing opportunity I called on someone in my network that I trust… and that has a ton of life experience in his pocket. While we chatted outside of a Starbucks about the opportunity and life… he said something that was so simple… but so powerful.

While we were chatting he could sense it in my voice that I was definitely struggling with a decision that really would be much easier for most people. Give up my business (or at least put them on hold) that is growing the way I had envisioned it would and stay in Oregon which I love… or head to sunny Florida and take this awesome position as the head of this company’s largest marketing division… that was my struggle.

But what he said was this:

"Sometimes opportunities are meant to not be taken. Sometimes they come about to force you to really evaluate where you are… where you want to be… and where your priorities are."

So simple… and pretty darn powerful. To me, this was huge because instead of putting pressure on me to make the decision I thought was "right"… I dug deep and figured out whether the opportunity would help me get where I truly wanted to be in life, my career, and everything else. That’s it.

Long story short. .. I ended up not taking that opportunity (I know… crazy huh?). Deep down inside there was something that just didn’t feel right… and I knew my heart really was in growing my business and leveraging the connections I’ve made here in the Northwest. In the end… it really was a simple decision that I analyzed way too much.

So, next time you’re faced with an opportunity… just remember… some opportunities are meant to NOT be taken… they merely are there so you can evaluate your life and find where your priorities really lay.