Opportunity Knocks -- Who Will Answer?

  

 When I was growing up, my family moved just about every ten minutes.  Maybe it wasn’t quite that often, but I did attend nine schools by fourth grade. We moved all over the country. Sometimes my brother Joseph and I were sent ahead to make sure we didn’t miss one minute of school, living with relatives, while my parents packed up the old house and got settled in the new. 

All this moving could have shattered a little kid’s psyche, but somehow my parents managed to make it seem a grand adventure. It wasn’t a new house; it was a new world to explore. It wasn’t a new school; it was new friends to be made. Joe and I took it all in our stride and did have those grand adventures. 

In Mississippi, we witnessed the growing struggle for civil rights. We toured the very first nuclear submarines in Connecticut. We ran the stony beaches of Maine bundled up against the wind and huddling around a dancing fire. We surveyed the world from the top of the Space Needle in Seattle. We rowed a clam boat on the Great South Bay.

We had adventures. We had opportunities. We had fun. Perhaps without planning or meaning to, our parents provided us with an eye-opening view into the greater world. Not only did we see places, we met people. We met the hardy lobstermen in Maine. We played with the children of the brave navy crew who went down on the ill-fated submarine Thresher, and the children of the maids in Biloxi who marched to gain their promised but long-delayed rights. We lived with an uncle who was an inventor and a grandmother who told us stories of even more wonderful worlds than the one we lived in.  




Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, tells the stories of many amazing men and women who succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. You’ll recognize their names -- Bill Gates, the Beatles, Michael Jordan, Cleopatra and many more. Super-talented folks, you might think.  

These people are gifted, but Gladwell, after studying statistics, history, and trends, found that it wasn’t just talent or brains which helped this group prosper. It was opportunity. Every one of them had an unusual opportunity which afforded them the time, funding, or education they needed to succeed. Most importantly, they all had someone who helped them --sometimes a parent, sometimes a mentor, sometimes a coach. They seized the opportunity offered them and thrived.  

Parents can give opportunities to their own children, and the children of others. Show your children the world. Be open and excited about what they might find. Volunteer as a camp counselor, a scout leader, a coach, a storyteller, or a Sunday school teacher. Offer opportunities. Make being alive a grand adventure.  Opportunity is always knocking. Let’s help our children open the door.