Big Yellow Screens
You know how some days just fly by? Those that seem to happen, but you don’t actually know what happened? For me, last Wednesday was such a day. As I walked to my office, through the long corridors of our headquarters, a bright yellow image from our digital screens caught my attention.
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
I’ve been known to say that I have had success in my life by being in the right place, at the right time. “I’ve been lucky.”
I have also had a few times when I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, or a mixture of those two scenarios. This quote stopped me dead in my tracks, standing in the middle of a hallway. I can name several examples of how I was either prepared or unprepared to accept an opportunity, personally and professionally. Can’t you?
While this quote floated in my head, I began to prepare my blog this week and it dawned on me that preparation and opportunity is what led me to the NTCUE competition in the first place. I have prepared and designed learning programs for several years, always knowing that we should share those competencies with other organizations. I worked with several non-profit organizations as a board member or volunteer and saw the needs for business acumen and training. Then, BOOM! Opportunity came as I received an email with the subject line “You have been nominated to be the Next Top Credit Union Exec.” This was my chance to have a platform to share my vision of empowering non-profits through professional development. Yes; Just my luck.
As I progressed through the competition, this amazing opportunity required more preparation. It was hard; it was more work than I was expecting, but it was worth it. Producing concise summaries of my idea in different phases challenged me to define my idea more clearly and confidently. Working with the executive coach enabled me to hear feedback that others around me may not see or be willing to share. He challenged me to find more data. That process helped me prepare a more compelling business case for growth through non-profit work.
Are you, or someone you know, ready to see a big yellow screen that says, “This is your opportunity!”? What is an idea that you have worked on, or have in your head, that could use a platform? Don’t press your luck, be prepared for your opportunity.
Lynette Cupps
