You’ve probably never heard of Ron Wayne. But had he not sold his 10 per cent share in Apple Computer shortly after it launched, ultimately for just US$2,300, he might now be as famous as Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. His stake today would be worth over US$100 billion.
It didn’t happen.
Joe Green was Mark Zuckerberg’s college roommate. Zuckerberg invited him to help build his project called Facebook. Green’s father talked him out of it. The rest is history. That five per cent stake could have been worth around US$7 billion at Facebook’s peak.
It didn’t happen.
Digg was launched in 2004 as a news site. By 2007, it boasted over 235 million annual visitors. In 2008, founder Kevin Rose turned down a US$80-million offer for the company. By 2012, Digg sold for just US$500,000, and the company was broken apart. Rose could have been a multimillionaire.
It didn’t happen.
I was recently at a ski resort, and my wife reminded me that back in 2012, we could have bought a condo there for $250,000. Today, those same condos are selling for $750,000, in some cases even higher.
It didn’t happen.
Opportunity is all around us. If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you’ve had chances to invest in projects, land, businesses or buildings. Maybe you haven’t had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities of Wayne or Green. But I’m sure someone once shared a hot stock tip—and you passed.
So what holds us back?
Sometimes it’s the money. We don’t think we have enough to invest.
Other times, like Green, we’re talked out of it by family or friends.
Many times, we don’t see the value in the opportunity, or we think the timing isn’t right and a better chance will come later.
Most often, we believe the risk is too high, so we don’t get involved.
Missed chances don’t just happen in business. Think about the opportunities you’ve had to make new friends, take a trip, pursue further education, fall in love, spend more time with family or live a little closer to the edge. For whatever reason, you passed them by.
But we can’t live our lives regretting missed chances or crying over spilled milk.
In the end, no one else cares how much money we have or how many investments we’ve made if we’re not decent people. Sure, society often admires those who build fortunes from nothing. But should we envy them?
Do you really believe an extra million, or even a billion, will make your life that much better? Chances are, if you’re not happy now, no amount of money will change that. You probably know people with plenty of money who are still miserable. Money doesn’t buy happiness.
Yes, money can reduce your stress. In my book , I write about how we need money to pay the bills, keep the banker off our back and hire people to ease our workloads. Financial stability matters.
But why beat ourselves up over missed opportunities?
If we chased every opportunity that came our way, we’d likely end up broke. Most hot stock tips and investments lose money. In fact, about 50 per cent of all businesses fail within five years.
What matters is looking at opportunities with an open mind, doing our homework and trusting our instincts, whether in business, relationships or personal growth. That’s how we make better decisions.
We won’t get it right every time. We’ll bet on the wrong horses and make bad calls. I have, and I suspect you have too.
But the sun comes up every day. And with it comes another opportunity to make a difference and to take a chance that just might change your world.
Opportunity continues to knock.
David Fuller is a Commercial and Business Realtor with a strong reputation as an award-winning business coach and author. He has extensive experience helping businesses grow and succeed, guiding various aspects of business management, strategy, and development. His work as a business coach and author has earned him recognition in the industry, making him a respected figure in both real estate and business coaching.
SIDEBAR
Where are they now?
Rather than return to the tech world in a big way, Ron Wayne went on to work in engineering and technical writing. He retired to a quiet life in Pahrump, Nev., where he has been known to sell stamps and rare coins and once wrote a memoir, . Wayne has said in interviews that he has no regrets, noting with some humour, “If I had stayed with Apple, I probably would have wound up the richest man in the cemetery.”
Joe Green, meanwhile, found success elsewhere. He co-founded Causes, an early social impact platform on Facebook, and later helped build NationBuilder, a software company supporting political campaigns and social movements worldwide. He also founded Treehouse, a co-living startup, and remains active in the social entrepreneurship world.
Green has publicly acknowledged the Facebook miss but says he has no regrets about choosing a different path. “I think if I had joined Facebook, I would be rich — but I’d also be doing very different work,” he said. “I’m really proud of the path I’ve taken.”
Both Wayne and Green are living reminders that even when opportunities slip away, it’s what comes next that counts.
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