Opportunity - Do We Wait for It to Knock?

What is opportunity, and when does it knock? It never knocks. You can wait a whole lifetime, listening and hoping, and you will hear no knocking. None at all. You are opportunity, and you must knock on the door leading to your destiny. You prepare yourself to recognize opportunity, to pursue and seize opportunity as you develop the strength of your personality and build a self-image with which you are able to live. ~Maxwell Maltz

Sometimes people wait their entire lives for the right doors to open for them.  They wait passively hoping and wishing something will change. Out of the blue, things will turn around for them. They are good people.  They deserve it.  Maybe they had some bad breaks, but some day good fortune might suddenly fall into their laps.  They just might get lucky, but until then their choices and inaction keep them in a discontented place.  They wish they could have the success that others have.  They can only imagine how nice it must be to have the opportunities others have.  Very rarely, however, do they consider the cost of hard work, strong faith, determination, and persistance.

Most people who are successful in life have paid their dues.  I am talking about truly successful people, not those who have things handed to them and do very little with their opportunities.  Although there is nothing wrong with someone getting a good break because of a connection, that person will only experience the rewards of success when validated for their own efforts, investment, and talent.  Until then, he or she may not feel too successful regardless of how they appear to others.  They too want to know the rewards and self-confidence that come from growing, giving, and fulfilling your destiny.

The good news is that we do not have to wait for opportunity to knock.  We can recognize opportunity, pursue it, and seize it.  We can start knocking on doors right now.  We can take steps to move forward, change, improve, and fulfill our destiny.  We can develop and practice successful habits today!!   What are you waiting for?

Empowering Thoughts & Words of Wisdom:
A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds. ~Francois Bacon

Opportunities? They are all around us.  There is power lying latent everywhere waiting for the observant eye to discover it. ~Orison Swett Marden

It's the man who waits for his ship to come in who's always missing the boat. ~Anonymous

Many an opportunity is lost because a man is out looking for four-leaf clovers. ~Anonymous

The trouble with opportunity is that it always comes disguised as hard work. ~Anonymous

Everyone has a fair turn to be as great as he pleases. ~Jeremy Collier

Your big opportunity may be right where you are now. ~Napoleon Hill

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. ~Lucius Annaeus Seneca




Copyright 2011 All Rights Reserved. Written by Krystal Kuehn.
Co-founder of New Day Family Marriage Counseling & BeHappy4Life.com




Krystal Kuehn, MA, LPC, LLP, NCC is a psychotherapist, author, teacher & musician. She is the cofounder of New Day Counseling, a family marriage counseling & individual and couples therapy center and BeHappy4Life.com, an award-winning, self-help and inspirational site where you can find hundreds of free resources, insights & inspiration.


The BeHappy4Life mission is to empower people to develop a lifestyle of health, happiness & love with self-help tools, activities, resources, insights & inspiration that will change your life.


New Day Counseling provides professional counseling services for individuals, couples, and the entire family. We specialize in all areas of mental health and well-being including depression counseling, anxiety counseling, alcohol addiction counseling, eating addictions, substance and sexual abuse, porn addiction counseling, divorce counseling, grief counseling. We also offer anger counseling groups and parenting classes. Go to NewDayCounseling.org today for more information or call us at 248-649-8050. We are here to help, and we look forward to hearing from you.






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Reflections on Health, Happiness & Wealth

If you have health, you will probably be happy, and if you have health and happiness, you have all the wealth you need, even if it is not all you want. 
~Elbert Hubbard

As I reflected on the quote above, I was reminded of several things.  For one, health is not only a gift; it is a responsiblity.  We make choices every day that affect our overall physical, emotional and spiritual health.  What we put into our bodies and minds has immediate and/or long-term influence in our lives.  Something as simple as complaining about a frustrated goal or dreaded appointment can keep us from feeling gratitude and hope.  Something seemingly innocuous as snacking on sweets can spoil our appetite for healthy foods and contribute to our feelings of guilt and lack of self-control. Taking good care of ourselves is an ongoing process and challenge that can become an established way of life with commitment, discipline and practice.  The more we practice healthy habits of body and mind, the more likely they will come naturally to us.  With practice, we can feed our minds and bodies with what is good for them, and we can have better health. 

Now if we have health, that is, if our minds and bodies are well taken care of, we will most likely be happy as it stands to reason.  In that case, happiness is actually a byproduct of a healthy body, soul, and spirit.  And furthermore, if we have both health and happiness, we are wealthy indeed.  Now the last part of the quote is what I spent a little more time thinking about.  It states that with health and happiness we have all the wealth we need.  Yet, despite having this wealth, it may not be all we want. 

Does this imply that we can still be happy and not have what we want?  We may have what we need, but is it enough?  Does not having what we want justify unhappiness?  To some of us it does.  We are not happy unless we have what we want.  But to be happy in the midst of not having what we want suggests a way of being that leaves our inner joy intact.  Is it hope that keeps us believing? Is it gratitude that keeps us fulfilled?  Is it patience that helps us to appreciate and live in the now?  Is it peace that keeps us secure?  Is it love that satisfies our deepest longings?

The next time not having what we want tempts to rob us of true inner joy and peace, maybe we ought to ask ourselves how much our health is worth.  Are we not wealthy when we see the good, hope and believe the best, release doubts, fears, and anger, receive and give love and thanks?  And are we not wealthy when we awaken to a new day with strength and vitality, seeing the light, breathing fresh air, and ready to fulfill our day's purpose and enjoy life's simple blessings?  

Health, happiness, and wealth.... suddenly they all seem to come together.

Wealth, like happiness, is never attained when sought after directly. It comes as a by-product of providing a useful service.  - Henry Ford

Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved. BeHappy4Life.com, NewDayCounseling.org Written by Krystal Kuehn



Krystal Kuehn, MA, LPC, LLP, NCC is a psychotherapist, author, teacher and musician. She is the cofounder of New Day Counseling Services, a marriage counseling and family therapy center and BeHappy4Life.com, an award-winning, self-help and personal growth site where you can find hundreds of free resources, insights and inspiration.

You Can Succeed with Love

I recently came across an old classic called The Greatest Salesman in the World. It addresses what I strongly believe in: the keys to real joy, successful relationships, and a fulfilling life. It begins with the importance of habits. Good habits are essential to all success. We all have bad habits we've developed, but we can replace them with good habits and change our lives! Following is a short excerpt from Scroll II. If you want the answers to the questions listed, check out the book. It's enjoyable, captivating, and empowering. Krystal


I will greet this day with love in my heart. How will I do this?

Henceforth will I look on all things with love and I will be born again. I will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit. I will love the light for it shows me the way; yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars. I will welcome happiness for it enlarges my heart; yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul. I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due; yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge.

How will I speak?
How will I act?
How will I react to the actions of others?
How will I confront each whom I meet?
How will I love myself?

If I have no other qualities I can succeed with love alone. Without it I will fail though I possess all the knowledge and skills of the world.

I will greet this day with love and I will succeed.


excerpt from the remarkable book:
The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino

The Keys to Success

There are many formulas and ideas about success, and I have found some of them to be helpful. However, I have learned 3 keys to success and contentment that never fail, and I would like to share them with you. They are simple, yet reflective.

I believe real success is not always about achieving or doing more, but it also is in learning to be content. How do we learn to be content? We learn by increasing in intellectual knowledge, and we also learn by habitual practice. It is important to practice gratitude, love, happiness, or whatever it is we want to have in our lives. That is why we encourage practice at http://www.behappy4life.com/. We also provide a great deal of information to help you increase in intellectual knowledge as well. Personally, I love learning. I remember accumulating more and more knowledge, but lagging behind in putting some of it into practice. It is when I began to practice love and happiness with a new perspective, setting my priorities straight, and drawing on God's strength that my life really began to change.

Following are the 3 Keys to Success and Contentment. How we answer them will actually determine our level of success and contentment.

(1) Perspective - How do you see yourself, others, the world? The information at this link will really help you to answer this question: http://behappy4life.com/newperspective.html

(2) Priorities - What is most important to you? Great activity to help you identify your priorities: http://behappy4life.com/purposedrivenlife.html

(3) Source of Power and Strength - Where does your help come from? What gives you strength? How often do you draw on your source of strength and power? This question is actually a very personal one. Take your time to think about it.

I wish you much success! Krystal