"Sometimes oppurtunities float right past your nose. Work hard, apply yourself, and be ready. When an opportunity comes you can grab it"
About this Quote
Opportunity is not a thunderclap; it is often a whisper. The image of chances drifting inches from your face captures how easily doors can pass unnoticed when you are distracted, unprepared, or timid. Readiness becomes a kind of antenna. Work and practice sharpen perception so that when a moment appears, it looks less like luck and more like a familiar shape you have trained to recognize. The grabbing is just the visible part; the real work happened long before.
Few careers embody this more vividly than Julie Andrews. Trained from childhood with rigorous vocal discipline, she stepped onto Broadway as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady and earned acclaim, only to watch the film role go to someone else. Instead of collapsing into bitterness, she kept working. Because she had put in the hours and carried herself with professionalism, Walt Disney noticed and offered Mary Poppins. She accepted, even while pregnant, and won the Oscar. That success did not arrive as a miracle; it landed in the hands of someone prepared to catch it.
Decades later, a botched throat surgery threatened her identity as a singer. Again, the counsel to apply yourself and be ready became a lifeline. She pivoted to acting, writing children’s books, directing, and voice work, from The Princess Diaries to Shrek and, most recently, narrating Bridgerton. Reinvention worked because she had kept learning and stayed open to new forms of expression. Life delivered different kinds of opportunities; she had built the muscles to hold them.
The line also cautions against perfectionism masquerading as preparation. Readiness is not waiting forever; it is maintaining enough skill, curiosity, and courage to say yes when timing aligns. Work creates momentum, and momentum meets chance halfway. Be alert. Do the daily, unglamorous tasks. Then, when a door shifts open, you will recognize the light and step through before it drifts past your nose.
Few careers embody this more vividly than Julie Andrews. Trained from childhood with rigorous vocal discipline, she stepped onto Broadway as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady and earned acclaim, only to watch the film role go to someone else. Instead of collapsing into bitterness, she kept working. Because she had put in the hours and carried herself with professionalism, Walt Disney noticed and offered Mary Poppins. She accepted, even while pregnant, and won the Oscar. That success did not arrive as a miracle; it landed in the hands of someone prepared to catch it.
Decades later, a botched throat surgery threatened her identity as a singer. Again, the counsel to apply yourself and be ready became a lifeline. She pivoted to acting, writing children’s books, directing, and voice work, from The Princess Diaries to Shrek and, most recently, narrating Bridgerton. Reinvention worked because she had kept learning and stayed open to new forms of expression. Life delivered different kinds of opportunities; she had built the muscles to hold them.
The line also cautions against perfectionism masquerading as preparation. Readiness is not waiting forever; it is maintaining enough skill, curiosity, and courage to say yes when timing aligns. Work creates momentum, and momentum meets chance halfway. Be alert. Do the daily, unglamorous tasks. Then, when a door shifts open, you will recognize the light and step through before it drifts past your nose.
Quote Details
| Topic | Work Ethic |
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