The air we breathe is so freely available that we take it for granted. Yet without it we could not survive more than a few minutes. For the most part， the same air is available to everyone， and everyone needs it. Some people use the air to sustain① them while they sit around and feel sorry for themselves. Others breathe in the air and use the energy it provides to make a magnificent② life for themselves.
Opportunity is the same way. It is everywhere. Opportunity is so freely available that we take it for granted. Yet opportunity alone is not enough to create success. Opportunity must be seized and acted upon in order to have value. So many people are so anxious③ to “get in” on a “ground floor opportunity”， as if the opportunity will do all the work. That’s impossible.
Just as you need air to breathe， you need opportunity to succeed. It takes more than just breathing in the fresh air of opportunity， however. You must make use of that opportunity. That’s not up to the opportunity. That’s up to you. It doesn’t matter what “floor” the opportunity is on. What matters is what you do with it.
① sustainv. 维持，供养
② magnificentadj. 壮丽的，华贵的
③ anxiousadj. 焦虑的，渴望的
机会
空气到处都有，我们是如此容易得到它，以至我们常将其易得性视为理所当然。可一旦失去它，我们只能活几分钟。基本上，谁都能呼吸到空气，谁都需要空气。有的人呼吸空气只为碌碌无为地生活着，或是在懊悔中度过余生。有的人呼吸空气并利用它提供的能量使自己的生活绚丽多彩。
机会也是如此。机会无处不在。机会如此易得以至我们对此视为理所当然。然而只有机会并不能获得成功，而必须抓住机会，见机行事，创造佳绩。许多人都渴望能夺得先机，似乎只要夺得先机就能万事大吉。这是不可能的。
正如你需要呼吸空气一样，你需要机会才能成功。然而成功靠的并不仅仅是随手可得的机会。你必须利用机会。成功并不取决于机会，而是取决于你。重要的并不是你在哪一个阶段遇见机会，而是面对机会你是如何把握的。
