Blog

in the late 1800s, Russell H. Conwell published a book titled “Acres of Diamonds”. It was a parable about a wealthy man who came to know about a rare and precious stone called a diamond. He sold everything he had and went in search of these valuable stones only to end up disappointed and ending his life a failure. The man who purchased the land that the wealthy man had sold when he went in search of this new opportunity, later discovered a vast resource of diamonds just beneath the surface. The point of the story is we often go in search of new opportunities when the best opportunities are in our own backyard.

What opportunities are lying untouched where you are today? Is it possible you are sitting on an acre of diamonds yourself? Rather than looking elsewhere for a better opportunity, consider looking at the opportunity that is right in front of you and within you.

Over the years, I have seen many young men and women make a career change hoping to find a better opportunity. Occasionally I will reconnect with one of these and find out that this became a recurring pattern for them, and that the new opportunity turned out to be different but not necessarily better. The fortunate ones eventually figure out that knowing how to take advantage of an opportunity is often more important than the opportunity itself.

Here are 3 suggestions to consider that might be helpful to you if you are contemplating leaving your current opportunity in search of something better.

The opportunity to learn. Are you taking advantage of all the learning opportunities available to you? Does the company have training resources that you can tap into to help you grow and progress? Have you spent time learning about your company, its history, its structure, and the opportunities available? Have you built relationships with people in positions of greater responsibility within your company? Is there someone who is doing something that you would like to do at some point in your career? Is there an opportunity to be mentored? It may be that there is more opportunity where you are then you are currently seeing, but it will require you to exercise initiative to learn, ask, and discover.

The opportunity to beat your best. Most jobs have a significant amount of redundancy of activity. Over time this can lead to complacency. Rather than see that as a sign that we need to seek out a new opportunity, ask yourself if you can do more or be better at your current job. Most jobs have quantitative and qualitative measurements. Are you focused on beating your best? Would that create new opportunity within your current job?

The opportunity to lead. Have you asked for more responsibility? What is it that you do well that you could teach newer people? Perhaps you could be a mentor or a peer group leader. One of the ways to stimulate growth and development is to engage in leadership activities. Most companies today are begging for people to step up and show leadership. Perhaps this could create a new opportunity right where you are.

Before you go in search of a new opportunity, remind yourself that you will take yourself with you. Rather than seek a new opportunity, start by challenging yourself to take better advantage of the opportunity you currently have. The best opportunity is perhaps within you, not somewhere different. Acres of diamonds may be just below the surface.

What are your thoughts about this? Post a comment and share suggestions or experiences that could be helpful to someone contemplating a new opportunity.