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by Luna Amarillo
If asked to live your life with a famous quote in mind, I think the worst thing one can do is choose the words "Don't bite off more than you can chew" and any of its many variations. Though it is a cautious, safe, and predictable way to live, you could grow old wondering what you would or could have been if you chose to live just a little bit on the edge-if you had been a little braver, if you had dared when the opportunity presented itself, if you bit off more and decided to swallow. (Unless you like predictable, of course.)
Remember that cliché about how many times opportunity knocks? I think it's true, unless you're extremely lucky, it does knock just once.
I know someone whose boss offered to pay for her MBA if only she would make the sacrifice to go to class a few nights a week after work. Apparently, her boss had seen qualities in her, which could be developed to fast track her advancement. Of course, she would have to put in some sleepless and gimmickless nights. Not even a minute had passed when the offer was made before she said, "Mahirap yan. I can't." Like most people, her initial reaction to a challenge was not to take it. After all she already had a degree, a job that paid well, she didn't need the change of pace, the added work-at least not just yet. The offer was given to someone else, who had the gumption not to refuse. That person now has an MBA after only a year and a half. She had completed her degree while pregnant with her first child. By the time her baby was six months old, she was a division manager of a multinational company. Like they say, seize the day!
Recently, the father of a good friend of mine died of a heart attack. It was unexpected. He left a business selling and maintaining heavy equipment which my friend did not have the experience or the training to run. She was, after all, an art major. But there was no one else left to take over the business; her brother was in the U.S., her mom would not have anything to do with it. So against her better judgment, she brushed up on selling construction equipment and took over the business as its general manager, heading a team of engineers and technicians who, a year later, are still loyal. She hasn't run the company to the ground and has even built a customer base of her own. It wasn't easy but she persevered. She paints on Sundays and does Pilates exercises to relieve stress. The hardest thing she had to do was overcome her non-inclination towards the kind of work involved. It was easier to walk away from it all, but she didn't. Now, she's expanding her business to include selling spare parts.
My cousin Paula is only 21. She graduated last year with a business degree. She also has a deformed left arm, something she's had since birth. She had gone to many job interviews, enough of them for her to know that, despite her excellent grades and glowing resumé, many bosses are scared to hire someone with a disability. Fresh out of college, she thought employers would see beyond her bad arm, but they didn't. Someone else was always hired. And though no one ever pointed to her bad arm as a reason, it was the only reason she could honestly think of for not being accepted. But she refused to be defeated.
With some money borrowed from her parents, she put up her own company making corporate uniforms. She got her first order last month which made her a profit of over P150,000! She would have preferred being given the chance to prove her worth in any of the companies she applied to. When the doors were not opened for her, she just resolved not to dwell on it and move on. Would you have the guts to go the way Paula did if you were in her place?
It's okay to be segurista. After all, it's better to be safe than sorry. But there might be something out there that's worth a try, for which it's worth risking the safe and comfortable. Others have done it. It's just a matter of not being too duwag, too shy, or too careful. Most prefer to live vicariously off other people whose more exciting lives they envy but never dare emulate. So next time you dare not, remember that we only live once! And if you're willing to go beyond the tried and tested, know that the world is your oyster. So go ahead, take a bite.
Reprinted as authorized by Cosmopolitan Philippines September 2000