Being alert to possibilities

David Noble

397 words

Many people see themselves and others as either “lucky” or “unlucky”. Entrepreneurs are often
seen as lucky, or risk taking, or both. Yet there’s an old saying the “luck favours a prepared mind”.
People with an entrepreneurial outlook tend to be alert to potential possibilities. They are good at
“connecting dots” between bits of information, and creating something new out of them, leading to
new opportunities.

Entrepreneurs often get bad press in our society. They may be seen as risk-takers, or even as
exploitative. People with an entrepreneurial outlook on life, on the other hand, may be the people
who seem to pick up the ideal job, or transfer from one field of work to another. They may even do
new types of digital work that we don’t yet fully understand.

People with an entrepreneurial outlook on life often hear snippets of information, and are able to
generate new possibilities from them. Those snippets may not be new information or ground-
breaking, or even an ideal solution, in themselves. But when combined in a different way, they may
present opportunities never before imagined.

It is true that people with an entrepreneurial outlook on life may be risk-takers. Generally they will
be those who are prepared to give something a go, without being guaranteed a certain outcome.
Sometimes it pays off; sometimes it doesn’t. But the important thing is that they are willing to move
out of their comfort zone. They are willing to use the skills and experience they have accumulated
throughout their lives, in new situations.

The employment and business world in which we live is facing disruptions at almost every level.
Many fear that robots will swallow up their jobs, and a globalised and interconnected environment
threatens the stability of many businesses. Yet many changes are subtle. Change often comes in the
form of useful tools that automate many routine tasks. As an example, tradespeople no longer need
someone back in the office to generate an invoice. Software on mobile tablets can generate an
invoice from the job-site, and instantly email it to the client.

Each of us can choose how we will respond to the challenges of change. Will we see them as
threats? Or will we see them as possibilities? If luck favours a prepared mind, then we need to be
alert to possibilities if we want to develop an entrepreneurial outlook on life.