Volume 11, Issue 15: Practice For Opportunities

Most people have a dream that they want to become a reality at some point in life. Some people dream of being the best in their field - such as the best basketball player of all times, or the president of a prestigious club. Others dream to own a beautiful house or to leave behind a lasting legacy of something worthwhile.

Opportunities to attain our dreams often come at a future time, largely unknown in the present. If we are going to take advantage of opportunities and attain our dreams, we have to prepare for them in advance. We have to be ready when opportunity knocks.

The legendary basketball coach John Wooden said that "When opportunity comes, it's too late to prepare." There's no better way to put it. We cannot wait to prepare for our dreams when the opportunities come. We have to prepare long before the opportunities are in the horizon.

My son is a young basketball player aspiring to play in the NBA someday. As a result, we watch a lot of basketball replays and motivational videos. The late Kobe Brant was a basketball star in his own right. My son tells me that he clinched the title of the best basketball player in he world after Michael Jordan retired.

From the videos I have watched with my son, I came to learn of where Kobe's preparation for the limelight started. I have learnt of how much harder he worked in comparison to his peers to realize his dream. In one video I heard him say how he trained so much to the point of placing himself five years ahead of his peers in terms of skill and speed.

Kobe Brant didn't wait for the NBA to come enlisting players in his school to get ready for the selection, he starting preparing for the selection several years before. Kobe didn't wait to get opportunities to shine in the NBA, he worked hard at the NBA to get way ahead of his peers.

At age 13, Kobe decided he was going to be the best basketball player in the world. The Lakers signed him up at age 17, and he played there for 20 years before retiring. At the NBA, Kobe worked harder than his fellow basketball players. He practically dominated the league all his career.

You have to prepare now, so when God brings you opportunities, you're ready. What do you need to get ready for? What skill do you need to sharpen in order to be ready, to unmistakably stand out when the lights go on? What's the one thing that God wants you to pour yourself into?

Don't be interested in being noticed and applauded as you prepare. While taking care of his father's few sheep, David was practicing shooting cayootes, shooting a lion, shooting a bear in private with nobody watching. But that was all preparation to kill a giant in public with everybody watching. Prepare, get ready for your opportunities now. People are rewarded in public for what they practice in private.

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi