Quotes About Taking Opportunities

“As I look back on my own life, I recognize this simple truth: The greatest opportunities were the scariest lions. Part of me has wanted to play it safe, but I've learned that taking no risks is the greatest risk of all.”

— Mark Batterson

“Bill Gates (and his successor at Microsoft, Ray Ozzie) are famous for taking annual reading vacations. During the year they deliberately cultivate a stack of reading material-much of it unrelated to their day-to-day focus at Microsoft-and then they take off for a week or two and do a deep dive into the words they've stockpiled. By compressing their intake into a matter of days, they give new ideas additional opportunities to network among themselves, for the simple reason that it's easier to remember something that you read yesterday than it is to remember something you read six months ago.”

— Steven Johnson

“The only time you have no opportunities is when you decide to stop taking them.”

— Danny Wallace

“You have this novel idea of the world, like it's made up of ladder hunting and test taking and framed plaques, all of which mean nothing to your current position. I know enough to know that you are dumb enough to believe in your ability, and that my friend is why you are given the opportunities to rise.”

— J.M. August

“There are several paths to success; We are given multiple opportunities to achieve our potential throughout our lives. Some get there a little faster than others. But one thing is for sure; NO ONE gets there without first having a goal then taking action and LOTS of it!”

— Rachael Bermingham

“Personalization means teachers taking account of these differences in how they teach different students. It also means allowing for flexibility within the curriculum so that in addition to what all students need to learn in common, there are opportunities for them to pursue their individual interests and strengths as well.”

— Ken Robinson

“We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light a candle that can guide us through the darkness to a safe and sure future. For the world is changing. The old era is ending. The old ways will not do.
The problems are not all solved and the battles are not all won and we stand today on the edge of a New Frontier - a frontier of unknown opportunities and perils, a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats.
It has been a long road to this crowded convention city. Now begins another long journey, taking me into your cities and towns and homes all over America.
Give me your help. Give me your hand, your voice and your vote.”

— John F. Kennedy

“I know I did the right thing by taking time off to raise my son. But it also came at a price. I turned down many opportunities over the years because I didn't want to leave him for long periods of time. And in Hollywood, as in any business, the calls stop coming when you don't answer.”

— Arsenio Hall

“When I meet with the founders of a new company, my advice is almost always, 'Do fewer things.' It's true of partnerships, marketing opportunities, anything that's taking up your time. The vast majority of things are distractions, and very few really matter to your success.”

— Evan Williams

“I just really love doing what I do. I know every career is fleeting and there will be time periods when I don't get the opportunities that I'm getting right now, so I am taking advantage of them.”

— Leonardo DiCaprio

“It's being in the right place at the right time and taking advantage of your opportunities.”

— Lee Majors

“Life opens up opportunities to you, and you either take them or you stay afraid of taking them.”

— Jim Carrey

“All the time, you're going into your modeling agency and they're taking Polaroids of you in a bathing suit. It was not something that was wonderful for me. It offered a lot of really great opportunities for me. But ultimately, it's a hard job because it's based solely on what your body looks like, what you look like.”

— Melissa Ordway

“There's always a fine line between being too focused and missing opportunities, or being too wide and taking on too many.”

— Maelle Gavet

“Our Lord did not try to alter circumstances. He submitted to them. They shaped his life and eventually brought him to Calvary. I believe we miss opportunities and lovely secrets our Lord is waiting to teach us by not taking what comes.”

— Mother Maribel

“It's about taking advantage of the opportunities you have right now, and right now we're in a position where you call somebody and they're willing to pick up and take the call because they're a fan, you have to take advantage of that and have a chance to capitalize on your ideas.”

— Dwyane Wade

“I turned down a lot of easier opportunities in order to go for the things that I really and ultimately wanted to do. And what's really nice is that it's starting to work. I've been an actor for coming up on 14 years now and the level of activity that's taking place now is a culmination of a slow cooker approach to as opposed to a microwave.”

— David Oyelowo

“I took Second City out of desperation, and that's what ended up working out. It shows that you should be doing a lot of different stuff, taking whatever opportunities are there, to see what works.”

— Bill Hader

“ROIers are always reaching out to me to share their appreciation for the experiences, opportunities and connections we have provided and also to express their excitement about taking the next step in their leadership journey.”

— Lynn Schusterman

“We are taking challenges and turning them into opportunities by developing homegrown, local energy production to become independent from foreign sources.”

— Mitch Daniels

“Detroit is a metaphor for America, for America's challenges and America's opportunities. It is a hothouse for new innovation, for ingenuity and risk taking. That doesn't happen in a lot of American cities. We need to be in Detroit because of that.”

— Darren Walker

“Experts generally agree that taking all opportunities to read books and other material aloud to children is the best preparation for their learning to read. The pleasures of being read to are far more likely to strengthen a child's desire to learn to read than are repetitions of sounds, alphabet drills, and deciphering uninteresting words.”

— Lilian Katz

“If we keep this question in mind while planning our days, we will see that we actually have countless opportunities to add to our life force. Being around people and places we love and doing things that give us deep satisfaction, taking time to digest the events in our lives, being less busy, telling the truth, laughing a lot, eating right, exercising regularly, having long talks with those we love-these are among the best ways to nourish our vitality. Our life force thrives when we are completely engaged in the present moment.”

— Debbie Ford

“I don't believe in being lazy, but I do think that this "big kid" thing may just be misinterpreting people who are taking advantage of all their opportunities and not tying themselves down to traditional gender roles or traditional life roles.”

— Desiree Akhavan

“I'm all about working. I'm a really hard worker, and I'm taking advantage of all those different opportunities, on the music and acting side, because I love both.”

— Diego Boneta

“I think it's helpful for kids to know that their parents weren't perfect, that they messed up and learned from their mistakes. So be open about some of your own struggles or express gratitude that your kids are taking advantage of the opportunities they have instead of squandering many of them, the way you did.”

— Emily Yoffe

“Being born is easy. So is taking your last breath. Everything in between, that's the hard part. Life is in between, and it will offer challenges and opportunities beyond measure.”

— Avery Johnson

“Consider this 're-make' business that is taking away opportunities for new ideas and new films to happen. If the movie was made right the first time, why make it again? The only reason this is happening is it has become a safer way for the Studios.”

— Bernie Brillstein

“The scheduling thing is really weird with TV shows. Certain projects haven't been able to work out because of the schedule, so some of it is out of your control. You don't have very many opportunities. There isn't much time, so you want to make sure you're going to be doing something that you really feel good about or that you're going to have a good creative experience doing. You're taking up vacation time from your job, so you want it to be meaningful.”

— Ty Burrell

“Go around asking a lot of dam fool questions and taking chances. Only through curiosity can we discover opportunities, and only by gambling can we take advantage of them.”

— Clarence Birdseye

“When you consider that God could have commanded anything he wanted
anything!
the Ten [Commandments] have got to rank as one of the great missed moral opportunities of all time. How different history would have been had he clearly and unmistakably forbidden war, tyranny, taking over other people's countries, slavery, exploitation of workers, cruelty to children, wife-beating, stoning, treating women
or anyone
as chattel or inferior beings.”

— Katha Pollitt

“Taking chances on opportunities, even if they aren't right for you, gives you a clearer picture of where you want to go with your life and career.”

— Lauren Bush

“I accept the proposition that there has been a significant improvement in underlying productivity growth in the United States, that it is very closely tied to improvements in information and communications technology, and that it is likely to spread around the world. But I resist the new economy label because it seems to encourage a disrespect for the old rules that could seriously undermine our success in taking advantage of the new opportunities.”

— Laurence Meyer

“I still love being creative. I still love the aspects of working together with great, talented people. But it's a weird dichotomy; I'm being blessed with more opportunities, but I'm going to be taking less of them.”

— Sandra Bullock

“The difference between those who succeed and fail: not taking advantage of opportunities.”

— Eric Thomas

“I didn't know what the path was that I wanted to be as an actor, to be honest. I've been doing a lot of theater since I was a kid, so I was just sort of taking opportunities.”

— Guy Pearce

“A successful outcome shows what hard work, perseverance and taking advantage of your opportunities will do for you.”

— Will Rogers

“The old adage, 'If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is' isn't always correct. In fact, the suspicion, cynicism, and doubt that are inherent in this belief can and does keep people from taking advantage of excellent opportunities.”

— Richard Carlson