Use the opportunity, don’t miss the opportunity, how to recognize the opportunity… Yes, the world is full of opportunities, almost as much as full of those that will teach you how to recognize one. For a symbolic fee.

It’s because these guys used all the opportunities in their lives so now they are making money for living by teaching you how to recognize them. You should trust them. Not.

If you are in marketing & sales at least a week since 1968 than you must have heard the story about two shoe salesmen sent to a remote village in Africa. After “market research” one sends home a message saying, “No one here wears shoes; will return shortly.” The second salesman sends this message: “No one here wears shoes; send inventory!”

Of course, the point is “seeing opportunities and setting the right mindset” and all that motivational s..tuff.

But have you ever wondered what happened with these two guys?

Well, the second one, saw the opportunity, made his PnL properly, and headquarters approved the proposal to start with local production. He is still there, expanded his business to surrounding markets and now his factory is making 2000 pars of 5 USD shoes daily! He’s got a foundation “Opportunity Taken”, mainly funded by a secret donator since his profit margins are relatively low, but this foundation helped thousands of kids to gain at least elementary education.

The first one left his job after missing this great opportunity in Africa, went to Rome for a weekend with his last salary and felt in love, both with Rome and with beautiful Giulia. Before the wedding, Giulia took him to a local shoe store to get a pair of unique Italian shoes for the special day. He loved the shoes so much that he made a business out of it, hiring some old school shoemakers, making a limited number of shoes per month, and selling them worldwide. He’s got some luxury options as well, personal delivery, premium gift options, special order service, individual approach to each customer allowing them to take part in the art of shoemaking by choosing materials, fittings, styles…. and he’s got a six months waiting list for his shoes priced from 2,500 USD per pair.

He is a big contributor to several foundations, including “Opportunity taken”, and he is traveling a lot. Usually barefoot.