An Opportunity Is Never Lost!

In my last blog post, I shared the Formula Of Success.

Success = Goals + Effort + Opportunity

Talking about Opportunity reminds me of the story of Disneyland. Last year, my family and I have an unforgettable vacation to Disneyland Hong Kong. (See picture, my wife Stephanie, Ryan (right) and Jordan (left) In 1999 my wife, Stephanie and I visited Disneyland, Anaheim, California, USA.


Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California, USA on the 17th July, 1955. Disneyland comes from the Vision of Walt Disney. In the 1940s, Disneyland was originally conceived to be a tiny (less than 10 acre) place for Disney employees in Burbank, California. World War II put those plans on hold, and that gave Walt Disney time to grow his plans even larger.

He wanted to create a place for both parents and kids - a place where they could be together. He wanted to create the happiest place on earth. (Picture below shows the plague at the entrance of Disneyland).


So the size of the park grew from 10 acres to 100 acres, and the eventual site was a 160-acre orange orchard near Anaheim, California, USA. Plans for the park were out of this world for the time and included artificial lakes, rivers, forests and mountains.

Many of the rides and attractions had never been imagined before. They were divided into zones with names like Adventureland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.

The magical moments that Disneyland offers around the world today remind me of a very important lesson that I learn about Seizing an Opportunity.

Years ago Walter took his friend Arthur to see some land in open country where cattle were idly grazing. Walter explained about his dream for developing this area. He told his friend that in time the area would be surrounded by many restaurants, hotels and convention centers. He told Arthur that his plan would take all of his money and he needed others to develop the surrounding area. He wanted his friend to have the first opportunity to buy into this project.

But Arthur thought to himself, "Who in the world is going to drive twenty-five miles for this crazy project?"

He said to Walter that he would think about it and decide later on. "Later on will be too late," Walter cautioned Arthur. "You'd better move on it right now."

"And so Art Linkletter turned down the opportunity to buy up all the land that surrounded what was to become Disneyland. His friend Walt Disney tried to talk him into it. But Art thought he was crazy."

Life offers all of us many opportunities. It is important that we do not ignore an opportunity. Rather, take time to understand and explore the opportunities that are presented to us everyday.

“An opportunity is never lost, it is just taken by someone else…”

Have a great day !