How to Find Opportunities and Cash in on Them: Get the Best Job You Ever Had, Even When There Is No Opening. Get into Business with Little or No Money. Rise Above the Competition. Create a New Unique Business. Even Start a New Career.

By Jack Edward Olson

_ Why do some people just seem to fall into that once-in-a-lifetime job?
_ Others even get financed into business with no strings attached and no out-of-pocket money
_ Some get hired when there are no positions open
_ And how do people beat out the competition even without a resume, and at top salaries?

Anybody can do all of these things. HOW TO FIND OPPORTUNITIES AND CASH IN ON THEM reveals the secrets with many examples. From simple techniques that can be used immediately, to preparing an irresistible proposal, this single book covers all. It is dedicated to the elimination of resume dependency.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 1, 2003
• ISBN: 9781477164006

Jack Edward Olson

The author is practices what he teaches. He has been hired into several great positions with never a request for a resume. He has headed up a consulting engineering firm, continuously creating jobs for his staff. He has presented many seminars on creativity and business start-up. He has designed over 200 products and special devices, developed unique marketing schemes, securing over three million dollars worth of free advertising for a single client (based upon today’s economy). He has been offered several businesses and is now operating a business which his major customer financed him into.

Book preview

How to Find

Opportunities and

Cash in on Them

GET THE BEST JOB YOU EVER HAD,

EVEN WHEN THERE IS NO OPENING.

GET INTO BUSINESS WITH LITTLE

OR NO MONEY.

RISE ABOVE THE COMPETITION.

CREATE A NEW UNIQUE BUSINESS.

EVEN START A NEW CAREER.

Jack Edward Olson

Copyright © 2003 by Jack Edward Olson.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including

photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

this book is available from

Olson House, Inc.

1633 South Yukon Street

Lakewood, CO 80232

Price: $22.00 plus $4.00 shipping and handling

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

18524

CONTENTS

Authors Note

INTRODUCTION

1

WISDOM, MORE PRECIOUS THAN RUBIES

2

PEOPLE COMBINATIONS, THE SECRET GOLDMINE

3

QUESTIONS TO UNCOVER HIDDEN TREASURE

4

OPPORTUNITIES RESIDING IN PROBLEMS

5

PRINCIPLES THAT MOST PEOPLE OVERLOOK

6

WHAT’S HOLDING YOU BACK

7

TREASURES HIDING BEHIND LABELS

8

THE SUCCESS IN THE MIRROR

9

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF YOUR ASSETS COMBINATIONS

10

SELECTING THE MOST REWARDING PATH

11

PREPARATION FOR OPPORTUNITY

12

HOW TO CREATE A DEMAND FOR YOURSELF

13

WHERE SUCCESS BEGINS

14

HOW TO CREATE GREAT IDEAS EVEN WHEN YOU

ARE BORED, TIRED AND CRANKY

15

INFORMATION POWER, OR HOW TO GET THROUGH DOORS

16

THE IRRESISTIBLE PLAN THE NEED FOR IRRESISTIBLE PLANS

17

A FEW GREAT HELPS BUSINESS PLAN OUTLINE

18

SELLING YOUR IDEAS

19

GIVING CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE

Authors Note

This book was written in good faith for public information. No guarantee can be made in respect to its use. Therefore, the author and publisher accept no responsibility or make any claims for business contacts or contracts or any arrangements that may result from publishing this information or for its use.

Most of the examples given in this book are true. Some are fictitious and have been written to illustrate specific points whose validity have been well proven.

The author’s desire has been to make the information memorable so that the reader will be able to retain the major points, thus making them useful over a long period.

For the profit of wisdom is better than silver, and her wages are better than gold.

Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.

She offers you life in her right hand, and riches and honor in her left.

She will guide you down delightful paths;

all her ways are satisfying.

Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her;

happy are those who hold her tightly.

Proverbs 3:14-18 (NLT)

INTRODUCTION

Where will you find your opportunities?

They are all around you like gems buried in clay. They sparkle behind black ink in the telephone book. They lie buried within the minds of people to whom you never say more than a thoughtless hello. They are scattered about your grocer’s shelves and abound within a thousand volumes gathered within your library. There are opportunities where you work and in the offices next door. Everywhere you look there are opportunities just beneath the surface, in some of the most unlikely places—places where no one would think of looking.

You must now learn to see beneath the surface. You must grasp the pick and shovel of the techniques in this book. So much wealth may then appear that others will stand amazed at what they have missed.

The results will make the work fun. Like prospecting, discovery is its own reward. The wealth begins when the mining begins; it builds all through location, extraction, cutting and sale of the refined gems.

This book has a single purpose, to guide you in your search for opportunities. It will lead you to the creation of jobs rather than competing for existing positions, and do it without a resume. You may be able to start a business and get paid to do it. Or perhaps you will find a treasure chest in your present job, the one you’d like to leave.

The first few chapters will prepare you personally for the kinds of opportunities other people only dream about. Other chapters will show you the kind of person that opportunities come looking for. You will learn how to get winning ideas even when you’re in a terrible mood. Finally, you will learn to polish those gems to make their value obvious to others. You will learn how to plan, develop, and present yourself and your ideas.

You should know that this book was not written as a motivational book. There is no hype or mysticism in this book. It is written for the purpose of guiding and showing. Motivation will come with discovery; when you do what is described and experience the results.

A second reading of this book is advised. The processes you will learn are dynamic. The best understanding of any chapter will come when all the others are known. Then again, by the time you’ve finished the first reading you may not have time for a second. You may be too busy with your own success.

1

WISDOM, MORE PRECIOUS THAN RUBIES

Start right now. What does your employer really need? How can you best take care of his needs? If you are looking for a new career, ask the same questions about your potential employers. What does this or that business really need? What are their problems? What similarities do you actually find (without guessing) in businesses? And the same for clients if you’re starting a business. If you are looking for someone to set you up in business, this is absolutely critical wisdom. It happens more frequently than you might suspect—an existing business will set an outsider up in business who is able to supply a particular need. You will be learning about that throughout this book.

Should you, like a professional, be keeping a log of your activities? It’s the first step in managing upward. A log of your activities is a powerful tool if you want a raise. When you go for a salary review, it can be intensely important, especially if you are asked how you think you might improve your performance. It also demonstrates your unique ability to organize and manage as well as your regard for your work and your acceptance of responsibility. Having that information is like wearing a neon sign that says this is a very wise person.

Chapters two through four open the windows to a vast landscape of opportunity. Chapters five and six will help you put some treads on the wheels of reality. Chapter 8 will help you get a grip on the you that God made and help you step out of the mire of inadequacy, inexperience and fear. Chapter 9 will help muster your personal resources and start you on the road to developing your best self.

By the way, don’t snub the idea of volunteering. You will be surprised at the people you can meet. And what it does for the soul may be all the reward you need. Volunteering connects you in ways that nothing else can. Excellent positions have grown out of volunteering from the experience gained, the people you serve and the contacts you will make.

HIDDEN OPPORTUNITY

Pete F. leaned on his shovel. He was getting sick again. He could not adjust to hard labor in the hot sun. Surely there was a better way to make a living. His best high school chum had been given a thriving business by someone who simply liked him. Another friend was becoming wealthy selling business machines. His young brother was about to make staff sergeant in the Air Force and would be making more as a technician than Pete could even by working himself to exhaustion. He felt he had loused up his life. Now he was making life hard for his wife and son.

Pete knew he had a good mind. So, why was he digging ditches? Why had he never met the right people who could offer him something better? At this job he knew he’d never meet anyone who could really help him. He decided to use his mind instead of his back. He thought about what he was doing. He also suspected that his boss would have to hire another crew.

He talked to his boss. If I had a small 30 foot portable conveyor, I could move a lot more dirt out of the holes and clear pipes much faster, and with a lot less effort. It would be like putting an extra man in the trench. If you will raise me half of that extra salary, I’ll buy the conveyor.

Here’s the wisdom: Pete didn’t just make a suggestion, he offered a reasonable deal and properly assessed his employer’s need for more laborers. Pete’s idea came at a time when that problem needed to be solved.

His boss looked surprised. He started to speak, stopped and looked out the window. Yes, he said softly, I think it will work. He turned to Pete. If it works, I’ll do the same for the others. Take tomorrow off and see if you can come up with a used one. I’m buying.

To make a long story short, Pete found the conveyor. His idea worked and he got a $400 raise as a result.

Two months later his boss needed a few other small machines. He remembered how quickly Pete found the conveyor and negotiated a good price. Since he didn’t have time to find the best deals, he called Pete. Put on your shiny shoes and look for these items. He handed Pete a list. Pete never climbed into a trench again. Three years later he became VP of Facilities. The business grew rapidly. Pete now makes more than any of his friends and has a good share of the company’s stock. Two weeks after his first good idea his life started to mend. When Pete was digging out pipes, he had no idea of the gifts he had inside of him. He just knew he could do better.

Was this remarkable chain of events luck? Pete had stumbled onto an opportunity principle, WISE IDEA PRESENTATION. His luck was well orchestrated. What he did, began in desperation. It ended in a chain of events that could only have happened to someone with understanding. Take note of his confident, unthreatening approach to implementing his idea.

Pete was desperate; but desperation doesn’t work for everyone. You will be much safer by following a deliberate procedure. You will need to know what, when and how it’s done.

He found his great idea through the techniques presented in Chapters three and four. Use your imagination to decide what he may have seen, or questions he asked and what went on in his mind.

WHEN WISDOM TOPPLES THE RULES

Gabe R. was reading the business section of the local newspaper. His attention was drawn to an article about a person who was forming a world news reporting business and publication. According to the article, this was a first-of-a-kind business. And since it was local, it was just the kind of situation Gabe was looking for. But the most intriguing item was the man’s name. Seventeen years ago he was one of Gabe’s high school instructors.

There had to be an opportunity residing in the situation. Gabe would have to draw it out. He did it mostly by making himself memorable. What he did is covered in Chapter 12.

Chapters two through five will tell you where and how to mine those gems of opportunity. The following chapters will help you make yourself the person opportunity comes looking for. You will discover how to prepare for opportunity. Other chapters will tell you how to find winning ideas and finally; you will read about plan development: how to multiply your value with a first class presentation.

OPPORTUNITY FINDING LIST

To get you thinking like a pro right now, here is a mind opener. Play with it for about fifteen minutes (longer is better) and see how it opens your mind to possibilities.

This is YOUR OPPORTUNITY FINDING LIST. It consists of two columns of words which you combine to create newcombinations. These combinations may be explored for opportunities or used to remind yourself of possibilities you have forgotten. You will find some words are repeated in both columns. No mistake there; it means that the words are likely to be useful in combinations with words that appear in both columns.

OPPORTUNITY FINDING LIST

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Here is how it works: Connect words from the left column

with words in the right column. Think about what the combination of the two words might be describing. If they were the title to an article about something new, what would the article say? Could it be a better way of doing something? Would it be a product improvement? Think about how each combination could be used to improve your present job. What new business or hobby could it be applied to? Try adding another word and see if that opens your mind to something new. Creative thinking is the act of making new combinations, of forcing relationships between things that seem to not be related.

For example, combining the first word in the left column with the third word in the right column yields supervisor techniques. Asking what might this mean, I get these thoughts:

1—   To   advance, I should read articles on techniques of supervision.

2—   In   what kinds of techniques (ways) can I now communicate with my supervisor?

3—   Could   that be the title of a computer program?

Perhaps there is such a thing as a program for supervision. If I were to learn it, I would position myself for promotion. I would also put myself in demand for expanding businesses.

Do this yourself now. Start with five combinations. Jot down ideas. It becomes obvious pretty quickly that if you were to add more words, the list would become more powerful. Add your hobbies to both columns. Try the list again with them.

If you thought this is great, wait till you get into the other techniques laced throughout this book. This, by the way makes a great party activity.

There is much more to opportunity than just cooking up ideas, as you are about to discover. So, before you get all excited and take off with one of these ideas, complete the book. Not only will you focus on something better, you will discover how to mold opportunity ideas into reality.

Write your ideas down. It’s a good idea to have a journal by your side for writing ideas as you read this book.

Here are a few other examples of how this works.

Supervisors + performance

Applying this to general supervision, this was probably the sort of thing that was the underlayment for several time organization products. To you it could apply to evaluating the activities of the supervision of children in a day care facility or to preparing an Internet program for use by anyone in supervision. Regardless of what you do or where you are, you are under the influence of a variety of levels and types of supervision. Understanding what they do will make you a valuable person. Becoming expert will make you sought-after.

Responsibilities + ideas

This may suggest to you to check into suggestion awards programs, to learn how they are implemented and operated. You would then propose that you head up such a program for the company or take the responsibility for it if it already exists. Read Chapters 14 and 15. Using the techniques of creativity you will be learning in this book, you will be very well prepared to take even dumb ideas, improve on them and know how to present them. Quite likely the suggestion program (if it is like most) is mostly unproductive and a thorn in the sides of those responsible for it. With you in charge it may become a very real blessing for the company and a testimonial of your greater value. This combination might also suggest to you that you should be looking at the operations and responsibilities in your business, club or neighborhood. There may be an abundance of opportunities for business, recreation or for contribution.

Desk, bench + economysuggests an opportunity in providing work-organization concepts and products, or work and hobby benches that improve organization as well as tools and materials. There may be better ways of working in any hobby or job. Ask Yourself questions like, Why is this done like that? Or, how can the offices of my company be streamlined? The next chapter will give you more powerful questions. You also need to check out Chapter 14

2

PEOPLE COMBINATIONS, THE SECRET GOLDMINE

Human beings are complex, so complex that you can confidently say that you have never met anyone like yourself. You may also say that you never will.

For instance, I am