POSITIVITY
  • Workshops
    • Calendar
  • Resources
    • Shop
    • Blog
    • Books
    • Podcast >
      • Hashtag Positivity Podcast
      • On A Positive Note Podcast
      • It's the Climb Podcast
    • Quotes
    • Free Minicourses >
      • Magic Words
    • Grow with the Flow
    • Principles of Happiness
  • Connect
Magic Words

OPPORTUNITY

2/7/2022

0 Comments

 
"Opportunities enable you to demonstrate your knowledge and apply your skills."​ — Jonas Cain
​Read the full story ⬇︎
Neither option was ideal and Brandon Burlsworth wasn’t entirely sure what he should do. He was good—but was he good enough by Division 1 standards?

On the one hand, he had a full ride scholarship to play football for a small university team—but on the other hand, all his life Brandon dreamed of only one thing: playing for the Arkansas Razorbacks. But the Razorbacks didn’t make him an offer.

Brandon had two choices: 1) Compromise on his dream with the safe offer, or 2) bet on himself, double down, and pay his own way as a walk-on at the University of Arkansas—but with no guarantee of ever earning a scholarship or even being given the opportunity to play on the field as a Razorback.

At some point, we all face our own rendition of this kind of problem—and what we decide to do ultimately comes down to how much we believe in ourselves and how bad we want it.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with betting on ourselves with calculated risks when we’re called to such a path, yet there’s also nothing wrong with taking the safe route when we’re unsure.

As the presenter Norberto Jansenson reminds us: “For life to work in your favor, you have to pay in advance, without having any certainty of what you will get in return.” This payment will always require sacrificing something of value; after all, as Norberto further suggests, “Surrendering something that is of no value to you, is not surrendering at all.”

What would you do if you were Brandon? Would you sacrifice your dream in favor of security? Or would you sacrifice security in favor of your dream? How much do you believe in yourself? And how bad do you want it?

After graduating from high school in 1994, Brandon made the tough decision to sacrifice his scholarship by enrolling at the University of Arkansas. But he only had enough money to pay for one year, and if he wasn’t able to prove his value to the Razorbacks within that time, Brandon would have to drop out of school with his dreams crushed and with no way of earning a college degree.

Once on the team, Brandon was sidelined as a backup player, limiting his chances to prove his value, but he persevered by finding other ways to stand out.

He became known for being the first player on the field for practice every day, and the last to leave. And when his fellow teammates went off campus for parties and vacations, Brandon would stay on campus to continue working and training.

Brandon knew this was his only opportunity to prove himself, and he took full advantage of it by leaning in and making the commitment to go all the way by doing the work. And this dedication paid off. By the end of his freshman year, Brandon earned a full scholarship and a starting position on the offensive line. 

By believing in himself and making sacrifices, Brandon’s dream of becoming a Razorback had finally come true. Over time, Brandon went on to become a captain of the team, received the coveted College Football All-America award, and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts as a starter for the 1999 season. 

Brandon’s example serves as a testament of what is possible when we seek and take advantage of opportunities worth pursuing, and if we ended the story here, we would have a happy story to inspire our hearts—however we would be remiss if we failed to acknowledge that not all stories have such happy endings.

Regardless of knowledge, skills, and talent—and regardless of how bad we want it—not everyone achieves their goals. There are simply too many forces outside of our control that influence outcomes. What’s more, even when we do achieve our goals, these achievements never lead to true and lasting happiness—for eventually even this too shall pass.

Acknowledging this truth is an empowering reminder that we have an opportunity to experience everlasting joy not in what we achieve, but in who we are and how we live our day to day lives—regardless of the outcomes. 

And Brandon’s legacy serves as a worthy testament of this. Just two weeks after being drafted by the Colts, his career and life ended suddenly in 1999 when he was involved in a fatal automobile accident.

Today, the Brandon Burlsworth Foundation continues his legacy by supporting the physical and spiritual needs of children—especially those with limited opportunities—helping young people develop values and a lifestyle that exemplify Brandon’s spirit of faith, hard work, and character.

Perhaps the most powerful insight to be gained from Brandon’s story can be summed up in this poignant knock-knock joke:

Knock knock
            Who’s there?
Opportunity
            Opportunity? That’s impossible! Opportunity doesn’t knock twice.

In other words: When you believe in yourself and when you want it bad enough, do it now. Tomorrow’s never promised—today may be your last chance.

Reflection
What opportunities are you taking advantage of today? And when not presented with opportunities, how are you making your own opportunities?

WANT MORE?
Hashtag Positivity can help you and the people you lead achieve growth by design through community engagement keynotes and assemblies, leadership development workshops, and change management coaching. Connect with Jonas today to discuss your challenges, goals, and obstacles.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    JONAS CAIN, M.Ed.

    Facilitator

    Jonas Cain, M.Ed. is a storyteller, magician, musician, and facilitator of fascination on a mission to help you experience abiding joy.
    ​
    ​
    Connect with Jonas today to discuss your challenges, goals, and obstacles.

    Picture

    Magic Words

    All
    Acceptance
    Action
    Adapt
    Adventure
    Affirmation
    Ally
    April Fools
    Atonement
    Attention
    Authenticity
    Balance
    Banner
    Beautiful
    Behavior
    Belief
    Birthday
    Boat
    Books
    Boundaries
    Breathe
    Care
    Celebration
    Challenge
    Change
    Character
    Cheese
    Choice
    Clarity
    Climb
    Commitment
    Communication
    Compassion
    Compliant
    Confidence
    Connection
    Courage
    Creativity
    Discernment
    Discovery
    Disruption
    Dominant
    Doubt
    Dream
    Education
    Empower
    Encourage
    Engage
    Enjoy
    Enjoyment
    Enthusiasm
    Excel
    Excellence
    Explore
    Facilitate
    Fascination
    Fear
    Focus
    Forgiveness
    Friendship
    Gap
    Generosity
    Gentle
    Grand
    Gratitude
    Growth
    Happiness
    Health
    Hermit
    Honor
    Hope
    Humility
    Humor
    Independence
    Influence
    Influencing
    Initiative
    Inspiration
    Integrity
    Interest
    Invention
    Invest
    Journey
    Joy
    Kindness
    Lane
    Laughter
    Leadership
    Legacy
    Listen
    Live
    Love
    Magic
    Mentor
    Mindfulness
    Mindset
    Momentum
    Motion
    Motivation
    Necessity
    Opportunity
    Passion
    Pathway
    Patience
    Perseverance
    Persistence
    Perspective
    Play
    Positivity
    Possibility
    Preparation
    Presence
    Prize
    Process
    Purpose
    Quantify
    Recognition
    Reflection
    Relationships
    Relax
    Remembrance
    Repentance
    Resilience
    Resolution
    Resources
    Respect
    Responsibility
    Reward
    Sacrifice
    Sail
    Smile
    Stasis
    Steady
    Storm
    Summit
    Support
    Surprise
    Talent
    Teamwork
    Thanksgiving
    Ticket
    Time
    Today
    Tools
    Transformation
    Trust
    Understand
    Value
    Vision
    Wind
    Wonder

    Picture

    Archives

    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017

Picture

JONAS CAIN
​Facilitator of Fascination
800-969-9778 | ​jonas@hashtagpositivity.com

#POSITIVITY

WORKSHOPS | RESOURCES | CONNECT

© 2023
  • Workshops
    • Calendar
  • Resources
    • Shop
    • Blog
    • Books
    • Podcast >
      • Hashtag Positivity Podcast
      • On A Positive Note Podcast
      • It's the Climb Podcast
    • Quotes
    • Free Minicourses >
      • Magic Words
    • Grow with the Flow
    • Principles of Happiness
  • Connect