© Elliot Essman 2005. All rights reserved.

These pages contain the complete 2005 revised text of Building Yourself, public speaking trainer Elliot Essman's guide to living the successful life.

Elliot Essman Public Speaking Training
Building Yourself Table of Contents
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• Chance favors only the mind that is prepared. Louis Pasteur (1822–1895)

Dwan knew nothing about directing a film, but he took on the job, asking the crew and actors to help him out. Over the next 50 years, he was to direct more than 400 films. He invented countless cinematic techniques. Obviously a man of talent, he doubtless would've become a prominent electrical engineer had he remained in that field. But he had the vision to recognize opportunity, and the energy and flexibility to act.

In science, a vector is a physical quantity with both magnitude and direction. Vectoring toward opportunity means moving toward it with force and energy. It implies a knowl­edge that opportunity exists, and that it can appear in unexpected places. It implies the vision to change to different directions as circumstances warrant.

Another example illustrates the concept. Three Silicon Valley engineers decided to leave the companies they worked for and raise money to start a high‑tech business based on their own inventions. They needed a million dollars. They raised half a million and needed to put the money somewhere while they looked for the other half million. They purchased a promising chain of convenience food stores, then got involved in the management of the chain to protect their half million. They learned the business, ended up forgetting about their high tech start‑up, and became very wealthy running convenience stores, a business they would never have thought of independently.

When I was thirty-two years old and working as a free‑lan­ce ghostwriter, I put a notice on a copy‑shop bulletin board to try to earn a little extra money doing word processing on my home computer. Back in those days, home computers were rare. Within a month, just by putting up free notices, I had a substantial business, literally ten times what I had expected. It was enough to make a full time living. I dropped everything else I had been planning and got involved.

Opportunity may not stare you in the face as it did with me, the Silicon Valley engineers, or Allan Dwan. But it's out there, hiding in the nooks and crannies of life, waiting to be put to use by someone with courage, energy and direction.

It does take courage to make a hundred and eighty degree turn. You'll have to throw out ideas and assumptions you once cherished. When you do change direction in life as a result of opportunity, the people around you may not under­stand. You may have self doubts and second thoughts yourself. How much of a risk are you taking? What if you're wrong?

The key fact to remember is that you don't make opportu­nity. The self development you accomplish sensitizes you and allows you to recognize opportunity and, hopefully, gives you the moral fiber to move into action. You can work as hard as you like, be as creative as you can, develop the finest sort of people skills, and still not reach your potential if you fail to vector toward opportunity.