In This Episode:

* How business coach Justine Clay decides whether or not to pursue an opportunity* Why she starts with feelings first and how she builds a “scaffolding” around those feelings with practical execution* What she did in the midst of the Great Recession to create a new opportunity by generously serving out-of-work creatives* How Justine views working on herself as an opportunity for growth

Opportunities always come at a crossroads.

Sometimes they’re intersections with big flashing lights and signs pointing to what’s ahead in either direction.

Other times, it’s impossible to know where each path goes. Maybe it’s even hard to see that there is a choice of direction in the first place.

But when we can really take notice of all the places we choose to go one direction or another, we can see that there are opportunities all around us—even when they’re not the opportunities we were looking for.

This month, we’ve been exploring how we spot opportunities and what we do with them once they’re in view.

Opportunities are, in effect, choices.

And while we don’t all have equal access to the same quantity or quality of choices, I think it’s valuable to notice when you do have a choice and how often you make a choice without even realizing it.

With every new opportunity—every choice—there’s a trade-off.

You might have the opportunity to hire someone to help you—but that means you’re trading off some amount of control.

You might have the opportunity to try out a new marketing channel—but that means you’re trading off time and effort you’ve been putting into another marketing channel.

You might have the opportunity to develop a new offer—but that means you’re trading off the focus you’ve put on what you’re currently offering.

Trading between one option and another isn’t a bad thing, of course.

It just is.

No matter what we choose or what opportunity to pursue, there’s something else we’re not choosing or pursuing. That’s opportunity cost.

If I hire someone for my business and trade off some control, I’m potentially missing out on keeping things simpler and more streamlined.

If I pursue a new marketing channel, I’m missing out on the potential growth that continuing to focus on my existing marketing channel could create.

If I develop a new offer, I’m missing out on the potential revenue that doubling-down on my current offer could generate.

Again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Opportunity cost exists with every choice, on both sides of the crossroads.

Except that we rarely notice it.

When we make a choice or pursue an opportunity without realizing the trade-off, or when we fail to see we’re making a choice at all…

…we rob ourselves of the chance to truly evaluate the direction we want to take next.

We’re so eager to consider the benefit of choosing one direction or the other that we rarely stop to weigh what we’re giving up no matter what we choose.

This week, my guest is Justine Clay,

★ Support this podcast ★