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The Best Opportunity

One of the best things about our family’s move to Melbourne two years ago has been the rediscovery of local shopping strips. In beautiful Perth, where we lived for ten years, our grocery shopping involved a car trip to one of the dominant, big chain supermarkets. In Melbourne, we live a two-minute stroll from a tiny local bakery and an organic grocery shop. Needless to say, I’m in the organic shop every day (sometimes twice) for something—fresh bananas for morning smoothies or a forgotten herb for dinner. The range and quality of the food are excellent, and the staff are pleasant—but their smiles never quite reach their eyes. Like many of the other regular customers who pop in daily or weekly I’m not greeted by name, in fact, it almost feels like I’m a brand new customer every time I shop there. What a missed opportunity!

In life and business, we’re often guilty of pursuing the next opportunity—those elusive two birds in the bush. We ignore the moment that is staring us in the face right now to embrace an advantage or make a difference.

The organic shop doesn’t need to work for my loyalty because it’s convenient, but they should be working harder for my love. As business owners, we innovate and market to sustain tomorrow’s growth—while sometimes ignoring the opportunity to create an impact today.

The best opportunity might be the one we have our back to at this very moment.

Image by G. Morel.