Instead of thinking of opportunities as just ‘coming along’, you can actually increase the number of opportunities available to you and there are specific principles you can use to assess whether a ‘possibility’ has real ‘probability’ and ‘profitability’ for you.

? Enlarge your circleof friends. To increase the number of opportunities available, you need to go beyond traditional networking to generate friendships and trust with people who ‘aren’t like me’. Use any system you prefer, but be certain that your friendships include various ethnic, economic and social backgrounds, people who ‘think differently’.

? Avoid being overlytied to your goals. Goals, and plans for achieving them, can be extremely useful. They can keep us on track, focus our efforts and motivate us when we’re tired. But they can also blind us to new possibilities. Work toward your goals; don’t let them run your life.