It’s not uncommon to hear people making excuses about why they didn’t take advantage of the opportunities that life sent their way. You’ll hear them say things like, “I could have done this or that….” Then come the excuses: “…but at the time my kids were little,” or “but we had just bought a new house,” or “but it seemed like too big of a risk” Unfortunately, many of these people continue this pattern of making excuses right into their old age. Then all they have to reflect on during their “golden years” are regrets about all those opportunities they let pass by and now it is too late to take advantage of them. As John Greenleaf Whittier put it, “Of all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, what might have been?” On the other hand, those who took advantage of the opportunities that life threw at them have many fond and exciting memories to look back on. So, if you don’t want to torture yourself later in life with, “What might have been,” go for it while you still have the chance!

One Sentence Wisdom

• “Opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long, you miss them.” — William Arthur Ward

• “Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem more afraid of life than death.” — James F. Byrnes

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