When William Butler Yeats coined the phrase, “Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking,” he didn’t know that quote would become the catchphrase to define taking advantage of an opportunity. But that is exactly what people are doing in 2023.
It is very clear that America is different: Different in the fact that inflation is increasing faster than pay. Different in that rent is now, on average, $2,000 a month. Different in that something must change if people are going to make it over the next three to five years. And finally, different in that people are less and less happy with their financial status so they are searching for solutions.
As people search for alternative incomes to add to their primary income, they’re finding that there are options available to them. Adding a part-time job is one option, working with a delivery app (e.g., Uber, Door Dash, Grubhub).
But the key to not missing an opportunity to strike is to never worry about whether an opportunity will come or not. The key is to develop a plan and work on that plan for as long as it takes to make the plan work.
If you wait for the right situation to come along, you may never advance on your goals. When Yeats said “Do not wait until the iron is hot,” he advised that opportunity comes from the work put in to create it. If you have a desire for a different life, Yeats advised that it’s better to create that life, than to wait for it.
And people are doing just that across the country. They’re not waiting for something to happen to them, they’re going out and creating an opportunity for themselves.
Keith, from Aurora, Ohio was laid off from his job recently. He sensed that changes were coming when new leadership was hired. So, he planned to be released and started to look at his options for his next position.
“My goal, since I knew I was going to be let go, was to make sure that I work on my own terms,” Keith said. “So, I work day and night, I started my own consulting company, and I’m going to attack my goals so that I never have to work for anyone again.”
Keith has decided that he’s going to work 100 hours a week to ensure that he’s successful with his consulting business. Working 100 hours means that he’s not waiting for the iron to strike. He is creating his own opportunity by working his plan as hard as he can.
“Luck looks a lot like hard work,” Brayden from Battle Creek, Michigan said. “I’m not waiting for an opportunity to find me. I’m going out, working my tail off, and I’m creating my own winning formula.”
Brayden bought a box truck and started delivering for companies like Amazon and other companies that needed packages moved around the state and country. Brayden knew he would, most likely, work more hours. But he schedules his own day, makes great money, and doesn’t have to worry about being laid off or fired.
This is a huge change for some people. Working for yourself can be difficult if you don’t understand all the aspects of being an entrepreneur. Bookkeeping, banking, sales, taxes, marketing, and financing are all part of what it takes to run a good business. Most people will struggle in one or more of those areas. If you do, work to find solutions that fill the gap of where your skills end.
“I thought owning my own business would be fun. What I realized after a couple of years is that I work longer hours and harder than when I worked for a company,” said Julie from Washington DC. “If you’re not going to dedicate yourself to your craft, you’ll ultimately fail. But if you succeed, working for yourself is one of the most gratifying things you can do.”
There is also a satisfaction factor that needs to be discussed. Post-pandemic people are finding that they’re not happy in their current positions. The job no longer makes them happy, or they realize that working paycheck to paycheck is not living. So, they’re redefining what makes them happy.
Quiet quitting is a post-COVID term that describes an employee who is still working but has checked out of their current position or career. They come to work every day, but they are working on quitting their position or have simply just checked out.
Public school teachers are one example of an industry where teachers are quitting by the thousands across the country and looking for other careers.
“I would wake up and couldn’t breathe. I thought something was wrong with me. I went to the doctor, and he asked me if I was stressed out, I said ‘No, I don’t have any stress,’” Nikki from Memphis said. “He asked me what I did for a living, I said teacher, and he said that my job was causing me stress.”
Nikki left her profession, she left a great pension, and she left the stress of dealing with teaching. Her health problems went away, and she’s now working a job that pays her bills with a lot less stress. She had no idea that her job was causing her to have health problems.
The bottom line: tomorrow is not promised. The faster you can get to your true purpose, the happier you will be, and the more fun life will be. Work in a position that allows you to work on your main goal and don’t stop until you hit your goals. Pick up the iron, and strike as often as you can, for as long as you can until you create the kind of life you always imagined.
