Episode 11: Creating Opportunities

[00:00:34] What's goodie, what's goodie?

[00:00:36] I'm your host J-Smoove and welcome to The Life Unexamined Is Not Worth Living and we

[00:00:41] are on episode 11, Creating Opportunities.

[00:00:44] Now before I get started, you all can find me on Spotify and Apple and there all of y'all

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[00:01:14] thinking.

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[00:01:48] All right, so let's get back to business.

[00:01:50] So let's start off by looking at the definitions of the words create and opportunity.

[00:01:55] Create means to bring into existence, to produce or bring about by course of action or behavior

[00:02:02] and the definition of opportunity is a favorable juncture of circumstances or a good chance

[00:02:08] of advancement or progress.

[00:02:09] So for many of us, we only see opportunities as something that's given to us, something

[00:02:15] that's placed right before our eyes but those aren't the only opportunities that are out

[00:02:19] there.

[00:02:20] Now is it possible for things just to fall into our lap?

[00:02:22] Absolutely, it's possible but the likelihood of that is going to be very low.

[00:02:28] So this is the introduction to creating and manifesting opportunities.

[00:02:32] Many of us don't fully comprehend the true power of our mind and our thoughts when it

[00:02:38] comes to creation and manifestation and I'm not talking about some type of magic or anything

[00:02:42] like that.

[00:02:43] I'm not on that type of time, not at all but that power and those results, that's real.

[00:02:51] So let's say that you're a person who blames their circumstances on the fact that you don't

[00:02:55] have the same resources or opportunities that others may benefit from.

[00:03:00] Now there's validity in that statement.

[00:03:02] Many of us don't have the same types of resources nor opportunities but what if I told you that

[00:03:08] having this type of mindset for when things may not go your way or you don't achieve

[00:03:14] what you're looking for is exactly what keeps you where you are.

[00:03:18] What if I told you that there are resources out there but we don't know how to identify

[00:03:22] them?

[00:03:23] What if I told you that there are opportunities out there but we don't know how to create

[00:03:26] them, we don't know how to manifest them?

[00:03:28] All of that low energy, my life is so terrible, why even bother?

[00:03:33] You're never going to get anywhere with a mentality like that.

[00:03:36] You're never going to be the best versions of yourselves when you think like that.

[00:03:39] You're basically going to get what you put out.

[00:03:42] So if you put out nothing but negative energy, if you put out bare minimum effort, what do

[00:03:48] you think your life is going to be?

[00:03:49] Do you think that your life is going to be great when you don't try?

[00:03:53] Do you think that your life is going to be full of abundance when you're not thinking

[00:03:56] from a positive standpoint?

[00:03:58] Of course not.

[00:03:59] I mean let's call it spade to spade.

[00:04:00] This isn't rocket science.

[00:04:02] Your life is exactly what you make it.

[00:04:05] So remember when I was just talking about the definitions of both of these words, creation

[00:04:09] is about producing or bringing about by a course of action or behavior.

[00:04:15] Faith without works is dead.

[00:04:17] This requires action, work for a good chance for advancement or progress.

[00:04:22] So listen to that, a good chance for advancement or progress.

[00:04:27] That's what an opportunity is.

[00:04:28] It's about giving ourselves a chance to continue to progress and accomplish our goals.

[00:04:34] But in order for you to create that, and I know that I'm about to repeat myself, but

[00:04:38] this is a common theme on my podcast.

[00:04:41] It all goes back to that roadmap and guide that I created.

[00:04:44] The foundation, knowing who you are, are you conditional, unconditional?

[00:04:49] What are your core values?

[00:04:51] Remember, we don't skip steps.

[00:04:53] We don't do that here.

[00:04:54] You know what time it is.

[00:04:55] This is a life that's worth living.

[00:04:57] So in order to create opportunities that are fitting for our lives, we have to do the

[00:05:03] work beforehand.

[00:05:05] Learning to create opportunities affects all aspects of our lives, whether that's our

[00:05:10] family, our friendships, partnerships, finances, our career, our health, et cetera.

[00:05:17] Manifestation is based on the power of positive thinking, and I touched on this in great detail

[00:05:22] in the Defeatist Mentality episode.

[00:05:25] So if you haven't already, please check out that episode.

[00:05:28] But our thoughts play a key role in determining the course of our lives.

[00:05:32] Having a positive attitude can help you overcome your worries, your fears, and in turn, you'll

[00:05:38] be able to reach your goals.

[00:05:40] Strongly believing that you can achieve your goals can help you focus your energy and actions

[00:05:43] towards them.

[00:05:44] And this can also be used to combat self-doubt and anything that may hold you back.

[00:05:49] And to be very clear, there's no guarantees, but we're talking about having a greater chance

[00:05:55] at an opportunity for success.

[00:05:57] So the foundation starts with our mind, with our thoughts, and you have to actually believe

[00:06:02] in yourself.

[00:06:02] That's what's most important is actually believing what you're saying, not just throwing idle

[00:06:08] words out there, but believing what you say.

[00:06:11] And this does not eliminate unfortunate situations in our lives at all, because as I stated in

[00:06:17] episode one, it's about making the best situations in your life.

[00:06:21] But for those scenarios that you cannot control, like my mother passing away when I was younger,

[00:06:27] my aunt passing away, my grandparents passing away, right?

[00:06:30] That's a normal part of life.

[00:06:33] Does death.

[00:06:33] You can't control that.

[00:06:35] It's about how you respond to them and it's about making the best of those situations.

[00:06:39] No matter how positive you may think, good and bad things happen to all of us, period.

[00:06:44] There's no escaping that.

[00:06:46] So with all of that in mind, I now want to talk about a philosophy called the law of

[00:06:50] attraction.

[00:06:51] And while I don't believe in every aspect of this philosophy, there are definitely aspects

[00:06:56] that I do believe in.

[00:06:57] And the law of attraction states that what you focus on is what you will attract in your

[00:07:02] life.

[00:07:03] And it's a concept that suggests that positive thoughts attract positive experiences and

[00:07:08] outcomes while negative thoughts attract negative experiences and outcomes.

[00:07:14] And of course, this is not always the case, which I just explained previously, but I will

[00:07:18] say that there is beauty in finding positivity, even in scenarios and circumstances that are

[00:07:24] not ideal, circumstances that are traumatic or circumstances that are unfortunate.

[00:07:29] Because while those experiences may be negative and while they may hurt us and it may cause

[00:07:35] pain, there also can be positives that come from that.

[00:07:39] There can be learning that comes from that.

[00:07:41] That's a skill that many of us don't have because when we're hurt, when we feel emotions,

[00:07:48] we hold onto that for so long.

[00:07:51] We don't want to think positively and how we can move in a more forward direction.

[00:07:56] Many of us want to stay stagnant.

[00:07:58] We don't want to grow and we think that we do, but subconsciously we don't because we

[00:08:04] have bad habits and we don't know how to.

[00:08:07] So while it makes sense for us to feel what we feel and to be affected by negative occurrences,

[00:08:14] it's also very beneficial for us to understand the positivity that may come from that as

[00:08:20] well.

[00:08:20] And there may not be any positive things that come from certain situations.

[00:08:24] I'm not saying that that's always the case, but I will say that many times it is, but

[00:08:30] we don't know how to identify them.

[00:08:32] We don't practice this type of behavior on a regular basis.

[00:08:35] So now let's get back to the law of attraction.

[00:08:38] So I use myself as an example.

[00:08:40] When I used to work in corporate America, I've met many people, wonderful people that

[00:08:46] I still talk to to this day that I love and that I care about.

[00:08:50] And these people from a work perspective would be categorized as connections.

[00:08:54] Now, they mean a lot more to me than just connections, but these are people that I

[00:08:59] connected with through these people that I met.

[00:09:01] I learned so much from them.

[00:09:03] And for me personally, I didn't make these connections based on me thinking about the

[00:09:08] future and saying, oh, these people could help me out or I could benefit financially

[00:09:13] from them because they could give me an opportunity.

[00:09:16] I personally was not thinking about any of those things when I built these connections

[00:09:21] with these people.

[00:09:22] That's just not my style.

[00:09:24] I'm more of a natural person where I'm not necessarily thinking about stuff like that.

[00:09:28] There are some people that do think like that and they build connections, not from a

[00:09:32] human aspect, but more so just from a, well, what can they do for me?

[00:09:36] I get it.

[00:09:37] That's not my thing, but to each his own.

[00:09:39] And I'm not telling anybody how they should approach networking or connecting with

[00:09:44] people.

[00:09:45] That's not my job.

[00:09:45] You do whatever you want in your life.

[00:09:47] When I built these connections with so many people, I was able to gain so much

[00:09:52] knowledge.

[00:09:53] I was able to tap into the expertise that they possessed and throughout my journey of

[00:09:58] working in corporate America, I also was able to show off my intellect, my work, and

[00:10:04] my work spoke for itself.

[00:10:06] So when I'm interacting with all of these people, they all respected me and not just

[00:10:11] my work, but they also respected me as a man, as a person.

[00:10:15] So as years went on, I was able to benefit and have opportunities from others that were

[00:10:23] able to help me and vice versa.

[00:10:25] I was able to help many other people as well that I could vouch for because we created

[00:10:30] opportunities for one another.

[00:10:32] So when you surround yourself with people who are like-minded, people who have similar

[00:10:37] interests, people who recognize your enthusiasm, there will be opportunities in that

[00:10:42] space and you're more likely to discover them than someone who has no knowledge or

[00:10:46] interest in that space.

[00:10:48] You're putting yourself in a better position to take advantage of opportunities.

[00:10:54] So even if someone is offering us an opportunity, we also have to look back at

[00:10:58] ourselves and say, well, I created that too because it was based off of my work and who

[00:11:04] I am as a person.

[00:11:05] They're all connected.

[00:11:07] So I want to use basketball as another example.

[00:11:09] So in basketball, when you stand in one spot, you're stagnant.

[00:11:13] That's one of the worst things that you can do because if you're staying in one place, the

[00:11:18] defense can load up on you and you're not creating any opportunities for yourself or your

[00:11:25] teammates.

[00:11:25] When you're moving around, when you're cutting to the basket, when you're coming off of

[00:11:30] screens, when you're setting screens, you're creating opportunities for your teammates.

[00:11:36] So if I'm coming off of a screen, my teammate who sets that screen is giving me the

[00:11:42] opportunity for a jump shot or maybe the jumper is not there because the defense is

[00:11:47] there. So then maybe he rolls to the basket and then that's an opportunity for him to score

[00:11:53] a bucket. Or let's say that I initiated a back screen for my teammate.

[00:11:57] Now that action, the defense has to make a decision.

[00:12:00] So that could either leave me open or leave my teammate open.

[00:12:05] And once again, that could lead to an easy basket.

[00:12:08] So essentially what I'm saying is that in basketball, there are so many endless

[00:12:13] opportunities, so many different X and Os, play calls and different actions that you can

[00:12:19] run that creates opportunities for your team.

[00:12:23] That's what basketball is about.

[00:12:25] You're creating that to score.

[00:12:27] So if you're standing on one spot of the floor and you're demanding the ball, you start to

[00:12:32] get upset and you say, yo, give me the ball.

[00:12:35] Give me the ball. But what opportunities have you created to deserve that?

[00:12:39] Nothing. You've created no actions, no opportunities, nada.

[00:12:44] But you want to complain.

[00:12:46] You're a detriment to your team because you just want to stay stagnant and do nothing.

[00:12:51] That's inefficient basketball.

[00:12:53] And even on the other side of the floor, when it comes to playing sound and disciplined

[00:12:58] defense, the purpose of that is to stop your opponent from scoring, which in turn could

[00:13:03] lead to easy transition points.

[00:13:05] But playing effective defense takes a lot of effort and is very tiring.

[00:13:10] You're exerting a lot of energy to play defense, to move your feet laterally.

[00:13:14] That takes a lot out of you.

[00:13:16] You're communicating with your teammates effectively.

[00:13:18] You have to be on point, but that's what's needed to create opportunities for your team.

[00:13:25] And in order to do everything that I just said, it takes hard work to run around the

[00:13:30] court. You have to be in incredible shape.

[00:13:33] So that takes discipline to know different plays, to know X and O's.

[00:13:37] You have to increase your knowledge.

[00:13:39] But again, that takes work.

[00:13:41] Stagnation and bad habits occur more frequently when we're tired and if we're lazy.

[00:13:47] So in order to give maximum effort, you have to muster up the strength and the fortitude

[00:13:52] to continue. And all of this stems from your training and the work that you put in.

[00:13:58] I use both of these examples to touch on a point that I made earlier when I was saying

[00:14:03] that a lot of us don't understand how to create and manifest opportunities in our

[00:14:09] lives. And it seems very simple, but it's not because it takes a great deal of work,

[00:14:14] dedication and discipline.

[00:14:17] So your focus and interest in something, whether it's work related, a hobby,

[00:14:22] relationships, etc., can help you develop expertise, build networks, and in turn, you

[00:14:28] can attract opportunities that will help you meet your goals.

[00:14:31] And another important aspect that I want to touch on is gratitude.

[00:14:35] So in one of my previous episodes, I have stated that out of everything that I have

[00:14:40] lost, I don't lose sight of what I still have.

[00:14:43] And I'm grateful for everything that I have.

[00:14:46] See, when you focus on what you don't have, when you focus on the lack of, you're

[00:14:53] disqualifying yourself from opportunities because you're using all of your energy to

[00:15:00] dwell on the lack thereof.

[00:15:02] And while I believe that it's important to think about what we don't have and reflect

[00:15:08] on that, I think it's more important to think about and reflect on what we do have,

[00:15:13] what we do possess, and where we're going and what the next steps are.

[00:15:18] Many of us take for granted what we have because we want to dwell on negativity.

[00:15:24] Do you know how much time that you're wasting in your day and a month and a year,

[00:15:30] years doing the same thing over and over and over again?

[00:15:36] Like, I really want y'all to think about that.

[00:15:38] Think about everything that we complain about.

[00:15:41] It literally drains you.

[00:15:43] So, we have to shift our mind to practice gratitude.

[00:15:46] And there are many ways that we can do that.

[00:15:48] You can get a journal, you could write your thoughts down.

[00:15:51] And when it comes to the format, it could be paragraphs, bullet points, free writing.

[00:15:57] Me personally, I'm more of a freestyle person.

[00:16:00] Whatever comes to my mind, I write it down.

[00:16:03] But to add to that, I also will repeat it out loud continuously.

[00:16:09] And I have conversations with myself and you also are going to want to come up with a schedule.

[00:16:13] So if that's once a day, several times a week, your schedule is what you want it to be.

[00:16:19] But you just have to make sure that there's a frequency and a consistency there.

[00:16:24] There isn't a day that goes by that I do not talk about how grateful I am to be alive, to be healthy, to have abundance, that I have a voice.

[00:16:33] That I can express myself, that I can love and help others, that I can love myself and that I can create opportunities.

[00:16:40] That's a daily routine.

[00:16:42] So we want the actions and habits such as writing down what you're grateful for and repeating them out loud, talking to yourself to become a way of life.

[00:16:51] It's not about writing down information that will lie dormant somewhere and you rarely think about it.

[00:16:56] Nah, we're talking about creating long term success.

[00:16:59] And with all that being said, I now want to transition into the importance of visualization.

[00:17:05] It's of utmost importance that we're clear about what our goals are in order to manifest them.

[00:17:09] We should easily be able to articulate and visualize what it is that we're trying to accomplish.

[00:17:15] We should spend some time every day visualizing our goals and how we're going to achieve them.

[00:17:20] And when I say visualize, I literally mean that.

[00:17:23] So let's say for an example, you want to be a homeowner one day.

[00:17:26] So imagine yourself in a home.

[00:17:30] Imagine what you want the home to look like, the environment, the yard.

[00:17:34] Really imagine that.

[00:17:36] Put yourself in that future scenario.

[00:17:38] Or let's say that you want to do volunteer work.

[00:17:40] Imagine yourself being in the community.

[00:17:43] Imagine yourself talking to children, serving in the soup kitchen.

[00:17:47] Whatever ways that you want to volunteer, picture yourself actually doing that.

[00:17:52] And the more that you do this, the more it becomes a reality.

[00:17:56] And the uncertainty and having a mentality that, well, I could do this.

[00:18:01] I may be able to do this.

[00:18:02] That will turn into, I will do this.

[00:18:05] It's going to happen.

[00:18:07] And when you say those words and you truly believe it, there's a lot of power in that yo.

[00:18:12] There's so much authority and control that coincides with us being confident and having belief in ourselves.

[00:18:20] And to assist with this mindset, we can also incorporate something called vision boards.

[00:18:26] And a vision board encourages you to think about things that you really want to achieve in your future.

[00:18:30] They're visual reminders that encourage you to reflect.

[00:18:35] It encourages you to ask yourself questions.

[00:18:38] How much progress am I making towards my goals?

[00:18:41] Do I still want the things that I've included in my vision board?

[00:18:44] All of that can be subject to change.

[00:18:46] But regularly asking yourself these questions helps you to reflect on both your needs and your progress.

[00:18:53] So let's say that you have a board for reaching a specific financial goal.

[00:18:57] Let's say you want to pay off debt or you want to save money.

[00:18:59] Then your board may have a spreadsheet where you keep track of your progress visually.

[00:19:04] You can also use a reflection board.

[00:19:06] And this type of vision board is more centered around achieving goals related to your inner growth and personal development.

[00:19:13] This is a way that you can learn about yourself from a visual perspective.

[00:19:18] You can learn about what makes you happy, what fulfills you and in turn can lead you to become more inspired.

[00:19:24] And even if you don't want to use a vision board, what's most important are the habits.

[00:19:29] And when we practice all of the habits that I'm talking about in this episode, it leads to a better well-being.

[00:19:35] It leads to improved mental health.

[00:19:37] And at the end of the day, that's what's most important.

[00:19:41] Yo, us being happy, us having a healthy mindset, not just physically because that's important, obviously, but mentally.

[00:19:50] Now, before I get out of here, I want to talk about something that really steams my broccoli, yo.

[00:19:56] And it's not a joke.

[00:19:57] It's not a joke.

[00:19:58] But I want to talk about the generational traumas, the repeated cycles and mentalities that many of us minorities face on a regular basis.

[00:20:07] And I'm talking about how many of us who do know how to create opportunities for ourselves, we don't want to share that with others.

[00:20:15] And it's a cycle that has been going on for a long time because the mentality is, yo, I got mine and I don't care what they doing over there.

[00:20:24] I'm not trying to help them out.

[00:20:25] Nah, I'm trying to get this money right.

[00:20:28] And that's dope that you create an opportunity and you're financially stable.

[00:20:32] That's a wonderful thing.

[00:20:34] But if you're not sharing that wealth of knowledge with others, with your people, then what is it really all for?

[00:20:41] Now I understand if you have a selfish mentality, I get it.

[00:20:45] It's all for you.

[00:20:46] And if you're around others that have the same type of selfish mentality, I understand that also because you're dealing with people who only care about themselves as well.

[00:20:56] So it's basically survival of the fittest.

[00:20:59] I get that.

[00:21:01] But that's exactly why I always stress the importance of you're in the circle and the people who are around you, who you surround yourself with.

[00:21:09] So if you're someone that's unselfish and you want to share with other people, then you shouldn't be surrounding yourself with others who are selfish because over time those people are going to affect you.

[00:21:20] And then you're going to start to resent them.

[00:21:22] And that's where the generational cycle just repeats itself.

[00:21:27] Now, on the flip side of that, if you're around people who support and encourage your goals and dreams and they believe in your vision, then in turn, that support can lead to you taking chances and creating your own opportunities.

[00:21:41] Often many of us are scared to create opportunities and we're scared to take chances.

[00:21:45] It makes us feel uncomfortable.

[00:21:47] And having that type of support and encouragement around you is very beneficial.

[00:21:53] So there may be some people out there that may give you some knowledge and they may try to help you, but their help has a limit to it.

[00:22:01] They'll help you enough where you don't get more than them.

[00:22:04] They'll help you enough where they still think that they're superior to you or they're in a better position than you are.

[00:22:11] And I find that to be corny.

[00:22:13] Basura.

[00:22:14] I don't live my life like that.

[00:22:16] I don't believe in that.

[00:22:17] And to give a real life example, I'm in the process of buying my first rental property.

[00:22:22] And my plan is to get many more in the future so that I'm not working a nine to five.

[00:22:27] I'm getting passive income.

[00:22:28] Please believe I'm not just keeping that information to myself.

[00:22:32] I'm not saying, yo, I'll create this opportunity for myself.

[00:22:35] So I'm good.

[00:22:37] I don't care about anybody else.

[00:22:39] Nah, I'm going to share that knowledge.

[00:22:42] I'm going to share that process with my loved ones, with my family, with my people, because I want them to do what I'm doing or better.

[00:22:51] Honestly, I want people to do better than me.

[00:22:53] You know what I'm saying?

[00:22:54] Because that's what creates community.

[00:22:57] That's what creates a thriving society, a thriving culture.

[00:23:02] When you do want people to do better than you, when we do look out for one another, my grandmother always said to me, we care for one another and we love one another.

[00:23:12] That's what it's all about.

[00:23:14] And me and my family laugh at that because whenever she said it, it sounded funny.

[00:23:20] But it's the truth though.

[00:23:22] It's about us really caring for one another, looking out for one another and holding each other down.

[00:23:27] And from there you have a community who are creating opportunities for each other to benefit.

[00:23:32] If I benefit and I get it, then I want y'all to get it as well.

[00:23:36] But understand that you getting it as well doesn't mean that it's a handout.

[00:23:40] Doesn't mean that someone's just giving you something.

[00:23:42] Nah.

[00:23:43] It means that I'm explaining to you the process of how you can get there and you put in the work to achieve what you're looking for specifically, because you may not be looking for everything that I'm looking for.

[00:23:53] But if you are, then I can give you the steps and how I got there.

[00:23:58] And then now you take that wealth of knowledge and then you orchestrate that into your personal life.

[00:24:03] So I just specifically wanted to get that off of my chest.

[00:24:06] And I really hope that that resonates with the audience.

[00:24:09] I really do.

[00:24:10] Because having that selfish mentality is one of the things that really hold us back as a community.

[00:24:16] And it's time for us to really work together and create opportunities for one another and love one another.

[00:24:22] And that's real talk.

[00:24:23] So remember that creating opportunities doesn't mean that you will attain everything that you desire, but it does mean that you are giving yourself a favorable chance.

[00:24:32] Many of us don't give ourselves a chance.

[00:24:35] And now I want y'all to see how this comes back full circle.

[00:24:38] We're at the conclusion and I just created an opportunity for you all to create your own opportunities.

[00:24:45] You see how that works?

[00:24:46] So my message is not only create opportunities for yourself, but for others as well.

[00:24:52] And I don't know about y'all, but manifesting what you really want in your life and creating opportunities.

[00:24:58] Well, that's another definition of a life that's worth living.

[00:25:04] I'm your host, Jay Smooth.

[00:25:06] And you just listened to the life unexamined is not worth living.

[00:25:10] And I'm out of here.

[00:25:12] Peace.