"Too often, the opportunity knocks, but by the time you push back the chain, push back the bolt, unhook the two locks and shut off the burglar alarm, it's too late"
About this Quote
Opportunity, in Rita Coolidge's hands, isn't a shining doorway or a mythic moment of destiny. It's a half-funny, half-exhausted image of modern life: the knock comes, but you're living behind layers of self-protection, logistics, and low-grade paranoia. The chain, bolt, two locks, and burglar alarm read like a catalog of hard-earned caution. This isn't just about procrastination; it's about how experience teaches you to fortify yourself, and how those fortifications quietly become a lifestyle.
The line works because it turns a motivational cliche into a domestic farce. "Opportunity knocks" is supposed to be reassuring; Coolidge makes it sound like a nuisance delivery you can't receive because you've booby-trapped your own front door. The comedy isn't decorative. It's a pressure valve for a real cultural truth: we are trained to treat the outside world as risk, and then we're surprised when risk includes missing out.
As a musician who came up in an industry built on timing, gatekeepers, and the sudden swing of taste, Coolidge is also smuggling in professional wisdom. Chances are fleeting; the cost of being perpetually "secure" is sluggishness. The subtext lands with particular bite for anyone who's ever waited for perfect readiness: by the time you've made yourself safe enough to say yes, the moment has already found someone less prepared but more available.
The line works because it turns a motivational cliche into a domestic farce. "Opportunity knocks" is supposed to be reassuring; Coolidge makes it sound like a nuisance delivery you can't receive because you've booby-trapped your own front door. The comedy isn't decorative. It's a pressure valve for a real cultural truth: we are trained to treat the outside world as risk, and then we're surprised when risk includes missing out.
As a musician who came up in an industry built on timing, gatekeepers, and the sudden swing of taste, Coolidge is also smuggling in professional wisdom. Chances are fleeting; the cost of being perpetually "secure" is sluggishness. The subtext lands with particular bite for anyone who's ever waited for perfect readiness: by the time you've made yourself safe enough to say yes, the moment has already found someone less prepared but more available.
Quote Details
| Topic | Live in the Moment |
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