Opportunity Is A Commodity

[Adapted from The Doane Cast, episode 81, “The Truck Cast: Opportunity Is A Commodity.”]

 Over the last few weeks, we’ve had a ton of explosion and growth at the Doane Creative Agency. We’ve been hiring people and finding people. In the midst of all this, something that has stood out to me is the idea of opportunity. I don’t have any finalized thoughts on this, but here are some observations I’ve made regarding opportunity and people in general.

 I’ve found it really interesting that there are a lot of people who want to do things, and when they are given the actual opportunity to do the thing that they say they want to do or say that they love, when opportunity really shows up, it starts to separate the people who are hobbyists/enthusiasts and the people who really want to take that thing and grow it.

 I’ve seen over the last month or so while trying to hire people that there are people who I know are not actually making a lot of money, who are doing something, who are trying to grow, and I say, “Hey, do you want to come over here?” And it’s double or three times the money they’re making somewhere else, and there’s more opportunity, more responsibility, and more projects. And I’ve seen people say, “Uh, ya know, I think I’m just gonna stay here and keep doing what I’m doing.” (Again, this is just an observation.) 

 I’ve had projects come up where people who have a certain skill set have had an opportunity to jump on board something that would be the highest profile thing they’ve ever done (and pay well), and they aren’t able to find time off from whatever it is they’re doing for their “real job” or full-time job. So it turns out that the thing they’re really doing is just a hobby. 

 I’ve been seeing those things a lot lately. When opportunity arises, it’s a certain kind of person that really has the “something”--I don’t know what it is--but there’s something that when people see opportunity that they actually have the ability to quantify it and actually see it like it’s a real commodity. 

 When you buy a commodity, when you invest in a commodity, you’re not trying to just flip it the next day and earn fifteen cents, twenty cents, or twenty dollars on it. Some people have the ability to see a commodity and say, “You know what, I’m going to buy this commodity,” or in this situation, “I’m going to take this opportunity and they parlay this into something else.”

 When you jump on a project, you get to be around people, to have that experience, and you get more than just, “Oh, I’m making $250 a day to go jump on this project.” When I would jump on projects as a young man, or even to this day, I would take any opportunity to go do anything for free. I’d do it because I’d meet people, I’d connect with people, I’d learn something. If you just think it’s an hourly wage or just think it’s a flat rate of x amount of work, you’re probably not going to have much success in life. 

 But when you see the opportunity to get around people, to be involved in a project, you have to understand that those things come back tenfold. Just being around people, connecting, having moments, building something, accomplishing something, being there for a day or two days or three days, that has nothing to do with the rate. That has nothing to do with the hourly wage. It has everything to do with the opportunity. And that opportunity is a commodity. 

 And what you do with that and how you hold on to that to where it gets even more value, that’s the trick. When you see opportunity, you have got to go out and get that opportunity no matter what it takes, if you are truly looking to grow and build something. 

 So these last couple of weeks, there were so many opportunities that people just passed on and didn’t take up. Then the people who did step up and jump on board with our projects and trips, oh my goodness, they were just so rich and so packed with opportunity!

 You really need to have the self-awareness to know what kind of person you are and what you are looking for. But if you are the kind of person who is actually looking for something more than just the rate or the hourly wage, be excited about opportunity! See opportunity as that commodity, as that thing that when you get in there, you have no idea how much more it’s going to be worth than the dollar signs that were on the upfront end.

 We are having so many people within the last month or so who are connecting with us here at the Doane Creative Agency who are just really seeing opportunity and growing because it is a commodity. It’s really exciting to see.

 I’m continually taking on projects--paid gigs, non-paid gigs, projects that are more research-based, and projects that I don’t know what they’re going to be. I do this because when you get in there, you get experience. Then that experience turns into something that is so much more than just looking at that bottom line.

 Opportunity, opportunity, opportunity! It is a commodity. Go and get it.

- Doane!t