MICHEAL HATED HIS JOB but loved the company of the books around him. Born in suburbs of London to a blacksmith, Michael Faraday was too poor to be formally educated. Nevertheless, when he was apprenticed to a book binder at the age of fourteen, young Faraday used every opportunity to read books for next seven years. He would read every book that came to him for binding and found a special liking for science.

As he turned twenty, Faraday got an opportunity to attend lectures of Sir Humphry Davy—the inventor of laughing gas and the most eminent British chemist of his time. The boy was fascinated by the lectures and took plenty of notes as Davy addressed.  Subsequently, he compiled a 300 pages book— a synthesis of what he had learned from his studies at the binder’s shop and during Davy’s lectures. Michael sent the book to Davy who was fairly impressed with the youngster’s zeal towards science.

And then came the first stroke of luck for Faraday. During one of his experiments, Davy got injured and his eyesight was severely affected. He started looking for someone who could take notes for him, preferably someone who knew a little bit about chemistry. One of Faraday’s customers at the binding shop recommended to Davy that he could take Faraday for notes taking. Davy remembered Faraday from his notebook and hired him as an assistant.

For Faraday, it was a dream coming true. However, his joy proved temporary. As soon as Davy recovered his eyesight, Faraday was sent back to work at the binder’s shop. It seemed luck had played a trick with him. Despite his repeated letters to Davy, begging to be considered for even the most menial of scientific posts, he always received the same response that there were no openings at the Royal Institute.

Eventually, in February 1813, Faraday had his final piece of good fortune. One of the laboratory assistants at the Royal Institute got involved in a public brawl and was dismissed from his post on account of misconduct. Davy sent for Faraday and offered him a permanent job as an assistant, with good salary, accommodation, and access to research facilities. The poor blacksmith’s son had found his dream career.

Michael Faraday went on to become a great scientist of his time. Apart from inventing devices such as electric motors, generators, and transformers, he also contributed to field of chemistry; his major accomplishments being discovery of Benzene, laws of electrolysis, and gas liquefaction process.  

Faraday’s life story is a prime example of how a poor boy with no apparent means can create opportunities out of nowhere. He had no hopes to join an educational institute ever. However, he converted the book binder’s shop into a school— an alma mater that eventually got him to a position that others with proper erudition could desire but never attain.

Learning from Faraday’s example, we can also create opportunities even when they don’t seem to exist. Here are a few tips that might help.

One: Identify Your Passion

When Micheal Faraday started reading books that came to him for binding, he might have read on various subjects, but he identified his passion towards science and then focused to pursue it as a career. The first step in creating an opportunity for you is to identify what kind of opportunities you would like to have. In simple words, you must identify your passion.

If there is an activity that makes you forget your lunch, it may well be your passion. You may have various passions, but it is important to narrow down to as few as possible. That is because not all of your passions can be transformed into a career. Besides, you have limited time and energy. Focus on your real passion and convert it into a career, rather than swaying between various completely unrelated pursuits.

Rather than swaying between various unrelated pursuits, identify your passion and focus to look for opportunities in a particular field.

Two: Be Mindful to Spot Opportunities

Sometimes, opportunities are lurking around us but aren’t so obvious, so we fail to recognize them. Faraday was eager to gain knowledge, so he recognized a learning opportunity in the books he was supposed to bind. He converted the book binder’s shop into an alma mater that imparted him with the scientific knowledge that no school could offer.

If you want to train yourself in spotting opportunities, be mindful. Being mindful means to be able to notice and understand the things happening in your surroundings. Take some time out to reflect upon the activities you have been involved lately, and the people you have met recently. Ask yourself if any of those activities and people can be relevant to the opportunities you are passionate about.

Sometimes opportunities are lurking around us, but aren’t so obvious. Being mindful about your surroundings can help you spot opportunities.

Three: Analyse Your Strengths and Weaknesses

Imagine you have spotted an excellent opportunity. It perfectly matches your passions. But are you ready to take it? Before saying yes or no, analyze your strengths and weaknesses. Do some self-reflection. Ask some trusted fellows for candid feedback. Also, are you willing to invest time, energy, and possibly money to hon your skills in that field? An unbiased analysis of your skills and shortcomings will give you an idea about your improvement requirements.

It is important to realise that overcoming your shortcomings requires dedication and hard work. For example, before joining Davy as an assistant, Faraday lacked any formal education. But he compensated for his shortcomings through seven years of extensive book reading and copious notes taking.

Analyse your strengths and weaknesses. Work hard to fill any gaps as you grab an opportunity.

Four: Don’t Let Opportunities Slip

You might be lacking in certain areas as we all do. But sometimes opportunities are fleeting, they might not appear a perfect time for you. You may think you are not prepared for the opportunity, however, if you wait for too long, the opportunity will disappear.   So while you work on improving on your shortcomings, make sure that you don’t miss the chance.

A wise approach would be to work on some basic skills and keep improving as you take on the opportunity, rather than waiting for a perfect moment. Once you spot an opportunity, be prepared to grab it. Take it as a challenge and do not be afraid of making mistakes and failing; each failure takes you closer to success. More on mistakes and failures in tip number six.

Sometimes opportunities are fleeting. Work on your improvement areas, if required, but don’t let the opportunities disappear while you are busy overcoming your shortcomings.

Five: Express Your Passion to the Right People

Faraday was eager to learn about science. His customers at the binding shop were aware of his passion. Moreover, he expressed his knowledge to Humphry Davy who was quite impressed and subsequently accepted him as an assistant. Had Faraday kept his interests secret, had he not expressed his interests to his customers, had he not sent his notebook to Davy, he might not have got the opportunity to work as a scientist.

If you are passionate about something, and have spotted a great opportunity, and you have acquired some background knowledge as well, don’t just stop there. It does not end there.  It is equally important to express your passion to the right people. Find the relevant people and build a rapport with them.

It is not much different from the way we use LinkedIn recommendations these days. Impartial recommendations or references are a useful tool for enhancing your chances to grab an opportunity. Having said that, don’t abuse your references, use them positively and fairly.

Express your interests to the right people. They might be able to spread the word and help you grab an opportunity.

Six: Even Mistakes Are Opportunities

All of us make mistakes, especially when we are new and untrained in a certain field.  That often frustrates us. But even mistakes can be turned into opportunities— opportunities for learning and growth. Do you think that all experiments Faraday or other scientists performed were successful? Not really. However, each mistake, each failed attempt took them closer to success. Let’s take an example from history.

Alexander Graham Bell— the inventor of telephone— was a student teacher in his early years. As a youngster, he got a chance to study a book titled Sensations of Tone by Hermann von Helmholtz. Since the book was written in German which Bell could hardly understand, he relied on the accompanying diagrams. The author had described his experiments concerning artificial reproduction of vowel sounds using tuning forks; however, Bell misinterpreted that Helmholtz had been able to transmit sounds along electric wires.

While he realized his mistake soon, Alexander Bell did not dismiss in his mind the idea of electric transmission of sound. In fact, transmission of speech along electric wires became his future vision which culminated into the invention of the telephone. Learning from Bell’s example, change your perception about mistakes— take them as development opportunities.

Mistakes frustrate us, but they can also be opportunities for growth and development.

Seven: Do Not Expect Immediate Results

While some people do identify their passions and recognize related opportunities, they fail to recognize that success takes time. Don’t forget that it took Faraday seven years of book reading at binder’s shop before being accepted as Davy’s assistant. And he was sent back after the first stint. It would have been heartbreaking, but so often, the difference between success and failure is persistence.

You may be brilliant at something but still you would need perseverance and persistence to reach the summit; and if you are not ready to persevere, don’t even look for an opportunity, leave it for someone else.

Spotting and availing an opportunity is great, but if your are not persistent in your efforts, you won’t be able to make the best use of the opportunity.