I like to expand on Dr Maxwell Maltz's concept of opportunity and sharing my personal thoughts about developing an opportunity-sensive mindset:

We all know that the power of the mind is strong. So, why not cultivate an 'opportunity-sensitive mindset.'

Here are some useful strategies and techniques, drawing from my own experiences, in tandem with my ongoing strategic exploration over the years:

1. Stay alert and activate all your senses, especially your sense of sight:

2. Be curious about the world around you & learn to see it from many different perspectives; [*]

I am actually drawing inspirational cues from Leonardo dan vinci, who asserted more than five centuries ago:

"... Develope your senses, especially how to see... "

"... Cultivate your power of observation..."

"... Be curious about everything..."

A little bit of history: Remember Steve Jobs of Apple Computer?

In a late 1979 visit to the Xerox PARC Lab (considered the mecca for innovation in computing during the 70's), Steve Jobs saw the mouse, windows, icons, and other technologies that had been developed at PARC. These wonders had been locked away at PARC by folks that didn't understand the revolutionary potential of what they had created.

Jobs was very excited. He raced back to Apple and told his engineers to change the course of the personal computer under development and copy some of the innovations he saw. The result was Lisa in 1980. Apple followed the Lisa with MacIntosh in 1984.

Apple beat Xerox in the marketplace because, while it took Jobs a minute to see the huge potential of what he saw, the Xerox team did not appreciate the enormous value of what they had created.

Likewise, the original McDonald Brothers (Richard and Maurice) were already running their small chain of hamburger restaurants quite successfully.

The brothers drew the immediate attention of Ray Kroc, a milkshake mixer salesman in Chicago. 

After the McDonalds' purchase of eight of the multi-mixers for their San Bernadino, Califronia, restauarnt, which prompted a visit by Ray Kroc in 1954.

Kroc was very impressed with what he had observed, but he saw something far bigger than what the two brothers had envisaged.

The sad thing was that the two brothers could not see the huge potential of franchisng across the United States and around the world.

To cut the story short, Ray Kroc eventually bought over the company in 1961.

These two brisk and yet fascinating stories tell a hard truth:

What has become so familiar to us that we no longer see it? The next one is all about being more curious in the things we see.

In a nut shell, enhancing perceptual sensitivity and developing sensory acumen are vital to recognising and exploiting opportunities.

Just sharing a Singapore Story, which I have had always remember:

Dr Christopher Chia, former CEO of the National Library Board, noticed a pink stamp on an egg. He thought: If, like eggs, library books could be tagged individually, borrowing & returning could be automated fully.

So he put his project team to work & they came up with the Electronic Library Management System (ELIMS), a patented system that is a world's first. Every year, ELIMS saves about S$50 million in wages for running public libraries in Singapore;