I was chatting with my friend the other day about opportunities in life. He was using surfing as an analogy. Opportunities come as waves in our lives and our ability to surf those waves for as long as possible makes all the difference. I'm not much of a surfer, but I have enough experience to understand the analogy and how perfect it is. Surfing is hard. And even after you do develop the skills you need to surf a wave, that ability is somewhat mitigated by many things outside of your control. Like the weather. Or the other people around you that want that same big wave. A lot of time is spent just sitting in the water, looking around, waiting for SOMETHING to come along. And when it does, you may or may not be able to surf it anyway. You try. And if you do find yourself up and riding a wave, then try to stay there for as long as possible. Unfortunately, most waves don't last forever.
Riding a wave of opportunity feels amazing. But when it's gone, and you find yourself sitting in the water with "nothing" to do, don't forget that waiting for waves can be enjoyable as well. You get to rest and relax. You can take a moment to look around and appreciate the view and the fact that you're lucky enough to be out there, likely with a bunch of other cool people you can respect and admire. And when a wave comes, you won't be the only person out there who wants to ride it. That's ok. If someone else catches the big one, just watch and learn and root for them. There are enough waves out there for all of us, and one that is perfect for you will come along eventually.