Opportunities are everywhere, all the time, so don't worry about missing some, because there will be more.

However, it IS important to keep your eye open for opportunities and recognize them, even if you pass on them or are a day late and a dollar short.

Mitt Romney walked right by me today as I was going about some business on a local college campus. You probably know him as the guy who ran against Obama. He is also a U.S. Senator, was the governor of Massachusettes, co-founder at Bain Capital, and is an all-around sincere, public servant.

He was only about 6 feet from me, with a small entourage of maybe 3 or 4 people max.

As he walked by I said hello to everyone, but I was going to reach out and just say something like the cheap and trite "thanks for your service" (MAKE A LINK TO WHY YOU DONT SAY THAT) or make some sort of a connection, but I didn't really care to and let it pass. And it got me thinking...

How often do we let opportunities pass?

Do you know?

I know.

Do you want the answer?

All the time. Right now. Just a second ago. Just a second from now. While you sleep. While you are awake.

Opportunities are all around.

In fact, once you realize that opportunities are all around, it can be paralyzing - you can go crazy trying to figure out which one to take and upset at all the ones you've missed.

Earlier today I also had another opportunity, albeit one with a person who is NOT famous. It was a "chance" meeting with someone at a school that I am seeking an adjunct role with, and we spoke for a while after I introduced myself. Before I left, I seized the opportunity to say, "Hey, I'm looking to land an adjunct role here, so if you have any ideas, I'd love the help." His response was accommodating and supportive. If you don't ask, the answer is always, "No".

Taking advantage of opportunities is how you grow success in life, not to mention a multi-million dollar business.

I have a good friend and mentor who told me that the way you go from one successful business or investment to the next, and continue to grow them, is by taking advantage of the next opportunity.

You might think that sounds a bit overwhelming, like a kid thats been told to pick out a piece of candy at b.a. Sweeties.

At first, I kept hounding myself in my mind, "What's the next opportunity?! What's the next opportunity?! Oh no, they are all over and they are passing me by! How do I know which one is good and which one isn't?!!!! Aaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!" (now picture a man running off into the distance, weaving side-to-side, screaming and waving his arms over his head. That was me).

Don't worry about missing opportunities; they are all over.

But then my friend said, "Dont worry about missing opportunities; they are all over. Just keep your eye out for the next one that stands out to you, and see if it fits. If not, there will be another one." (Okay, that's not a direct quote from him, but you get the idea).

So now, I understand that there are opportunities all over the place, all of the time, and when I recognize that I missed one or that I might miss one, I simply catalog it and use it to inform my learning and keep my eye out for more.

We don't have to stress about missing something, we just need to keep an eye open and have our resources prepared to jump on the next one that fits our circumstances.