On Opportunity and Pouncing

Deep in the heart of the Serengeti, the lion weaves through the tall grass in search of its next meal. A gazelle is spotted grazing near the local drinking hole.

Now that the lion’s target has been acquired, there’s no room to be hasty when it comes to pouncing. The lion’s skills have been honed over years of practice and success being the only key to survival.

The lion knows when to be patient and when to reveal its intentions.

As humans, we find ourselves in similar situations all of the time. Opportunity is all around us, but sometimes we pounce too early and it gets away. It’s up to us to sit back and carefully plan out our movements before we fully immerse ourselves in something major.

Entrepreneurs creating software run into this issue all of the time. It’s called finding product market fit. They jump the gun on creating something new thinking it’ll change the world, but when they release it no one wants to buy it.

They pounced on the opportunity. The opportunity, however, got away because their pouncing strategy didn’t match the prey’s movements.

The next time you see a big opportunity in front of you. Think before you pounce. Your future self will thank you.