Employment Research Institute's Chief Executive Officer, A. Harrison Barnes, in a webinar as he discussed the basic fact about how there is so much opportunity all around us and how we should make the most of it.

Drawing on the example of the foster family and several foster kids with whom Harrison lived for a short while, he sincerely attempts to let you know that you are one lucky person. That family consisted of some very happy people and they knew how to make the most of the few opportunities that were around – no matter how small. They could not afford movies, so the children were taken to watch bears in the dump yard. The father did not make money, so he sold cheap fish to the few cars that drove past their gas station. They could not send their son to a good college, so instead bought him a cheap kit with which he could repair rips in restaurant booths and chairs.  The children in the foster home were extremely grateful to the family and strove hard to be adopted by the family. These children had no homes, no family, and no one in the world to love and care for them. The world outside was a frightening place for them, and yet they were happy and contented. Harrison believes that no matter where you are in your life, it is possible to find success, love, and happiness.

You may not realize it, but you are a very lucky person and so are most of the people around you. There are immense opportunities and resources that are invariably overlooked by everyone. You have good homes, studied in good colleges, wear good clothes, have people around you who love you. The world you live in is in stark contrast to the world of the foster family and the children living in it. Children on this side pester their parents for $100 jeans and game consoles. Parents here drive their kids to soccer practice and make lunches for them to take to school. Take a while and try and realize how lucky you are. Most people find problems even in this kind of a world. They are seen getting angry about getting paid only $175,000 a year or are seen being discouraged by negative responses from the first employers they apply for jobs to!  

The truth is that there is an abundance of opportunities around you – it all depends on how you look at it and the opportunities you allow yourself to actually see. Life is also about connection, love and feeling close to others. You need to cherish your loved ones and do everything in your power to be connected to them. The bottom line that Harrison stresses on is that you need to understand how lucky you are and grateful for everything you have around you. You have much more than others – so instead of complaining about those things which you don’t have, be happy and content about what you do have, and make the most of it.