Comments on: Opportunity

By: Jamie

Jamie — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:04:48 +0000

There’s a saying in my family: “Luck is when opportunity and preparation join together”. Nice post Trent, it’s spot on

By: shadox

shadox — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:58:52 +0000

Magic rocks – I was a big player myself once. Still have most of these cards somewhere… not selling them for $4 a pack though… :-)

By: Lona Woodward

Lona Woodward — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:52:41 +0000

Good post,guess the old saying is true,when oppertunity knocks be ready to open the door.

By: partgypsy

partgypsy — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:21:44 +0000

I have a story about a missed oppourtunity. We bought our house, and there was an empty lot adjacent to our lot. We actually “squatted” on it as my husband made a small garden there. The person who owned both our and the other property then offered us the piece of land for 35K. We declined, 1) out of fear of debt; we would have had to take a loan to get it, and 2) I researched and it seemed that it didn’t conform to building codes so I thought noone one could build on it. Why buy it when we can use it for free? Sure enough the owners appealed to build, was approved, and they built this huge mcmansion overlooking our house. There are virtually no empty lots in our neighborhood now due to rising property values inducing alot of building, and certainly none that would be available at that kind of price, let alone one that was along our own property line. I hope the next time something like that happens I am not too risk averse.

By: Dividend Growth Investor

Dividend Growth Investor — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:11:48 +0000

Good article, I see opportunities every day. This bear market has provided me with excellend opportunities to buy quality dividend stocks at bargain prices..

By: Carmen

Carmen — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:49:16 +0000

Nice one. :)

By: Sally

Sally — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:17:46 +0000

Great post. Your teacher was write.

I hope that was a typo!! LOL! I like “the harder I work, the luckier I get.” There is no shame in being a “worker”. Bill Gates may have the most money but he didn’t get that way by being a slacker.

By: Marcin

Marcin — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:29:03 +0000

You are right on the money Trent.

I tell you, there are more opportunites in this world than we can handle. We expect for others to take us by the hand but it doesn’t work that way.

By: getagrip

getagrip — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:02:31 +0000

With respect to the cards a simpler method, and perhaps an alternative to trying to come up with the money, might have been a 20/80, 25/75 or 30/60 split, whatever you felt was appropriate. He provides the cards, you do the work in selling them, and you get the bulk of the profits. That is more the way I prefer to make offers for these kinds of things with friends and family. I’ve done it for coin, baseball cards, football cards, etc. from family and friends.

However, that said, more often than not I still get, “Nah, just give me $X and I’ll be good.” In which case, they’ve made their decision and you can move forward with a clear conscience.

By: bacall

bacall — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:00:07 +0000

Trent, thank you. Sharing your story has reenergized me to continue to persist in something that I am currently finding extremely challenging. Please keep these types of stories coming – inspiration is always needed!

By: plonkee

plonkee — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:37:26 +0000

I’m thinking that we should be making opportunities for other people, or at least pointing them out. If someone hadn’t made you believe that you still had the opportunity to go to college, where would you be now? How can I show other people their opportunities?

By: RTrain

RTrain — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:26:42 +0000

@Mike

Ripping the guy off would have been telling him, “Nobody plays that anymore, but they have sentimental value to me. I’ll give you $50 bucks to cut your loss on it.”

Telling the guy that they were actually worth a few bucks allowed him to make an offer to Trent (who was helping him clean). Unfortunately, the moral of the story was our man didn’t have access to the cash.

Or something.

By: Drew

Drew — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:59:14 +0000

This article couldn’t have come at a better time. I’ve reached my own personal financial meltdown, and I am actively applying the debt snowball method to bring myself back under control.
Recently I missed out on an opportunity similar to your card story because my personal finances were so tight that I couldn’t raise the capital I needed to take advantage of it!
Now I have myself strapped down and I am forcing myself to save at least something from each check that comes in, so that in the future when these opportunities come along I won’t lose out.

By: shahrul azwad

shahrul azwad — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:33:25 +0000

Great post!

By: Ryan @ Smarter Wealth

Ryan @ Smarter Wealth — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:38:20 +0000

Great post. Your teacher was write. You are a fantastic writer. I was a horrible writer in high school and I hated english class, yet now that I am 20 I have a love for writing, for words and for communication. This took me by surprise as I was always good at maths.
Now I am looking for every and any opportunity to be a writer. That is why I am a blogger. I have an opportunity to write and earn more for it…so I am taking this opportunity (no matter how hard it is).

By: Battra92

Battra92 — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:05:45 +0000

Well, sadly I never had the scholarship despite having a very high GPA. I didn’t get it because I went to a Vocational High school instead of the run-down failing unsafe public school. I had to work two jobs to get through college.

Opportunities never come my way. I have to make my own.

By: Four Pillars

Four Pillars — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 03:28:08 +0000

I told him that these cards had some significant value

That’s not quite the same as telling him they were worth $7200.

I’m not saying you were wrong – I’m just curious as to where you draw the line in business deals – what is good business and what is ripping someone off? If there isn’t outright fraud (which clearly there wasn’t in this case) then should there be a line at all?

Mike

By: Lurker Carl

Lurker Carl — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 03:08:45 +0000

“Chance favors the prepared mind.” – Louis Pasteur

Never stop learning. As you learn more things, you’ll realize how little you know. Every little nugget of knowledge helps.

Money gives one the ability to take advantage of opportunity. With money AND knowledge, the possibilities are endless.

By: Todd A

Todd A — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 02:25:02 +0000

2 of my favorite sayings:
(1)”the harder I work, the luckier I get”
and
(2)have an “attitude of gratitude”

By: K.J.

K.J. — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 02:15:19 +0000

Another really wonderful post, Trent. Reading this post reminds me of how much I value opportunities like this — free houseplants or a chance to go out for an evening or everything in between. Chance does, in fact, favor the prepared. : )