Opportunities Multiply as They Are Taken

You’ve probably heard the quote:

“Opportunities multiply as they are taken.”

It’s often attributed to Sun Tzu, he didn’t actually say it. But the principle behind it is money.

The Myth of the Perfect Opportunity

Most people believe opportunities appear first, then action follows. In reality, it works the other way around.

Action creates vulnerability, which makes us sharpen our skills. Skills creates confidence. Confidence attracts more opportunities. That’s how opportunities multiply.

Waiting feels responsible and strategic. But most of the time, waiting is just disguised fear, what Bandura (1997) identified as a mechanism of self-regulatory failure, where anticipated negative outcomes inhibit behavioral engagement.1

Why High Performers Get Stuck

High performers are especially prone to this trap. They overanalyze, want alignment and certainty — so they hesitate.

The irony? Momentum is what creates clarity. Not the other way around.

Research on decision-making under uncertainty demonstrates that excessive deliberation without action can lead to “analysis paralysis,” a phenomenon where cognitive resources are depleted without advancing toward goal achievement (Schwartz, 2004).2

Very few meaningful opportunities show up fully formed. Most are unlocked only after you move.

Somebody told me once: ” The quality of your life will be in direct proportion of how much uncertainty you can handle”. Damn, that’s so true!

Action Changes the Environment

Sun Tzu’s actual teachings focused on this idea: don’t wait for favorable conditions, shape them (The Art of War, circa 5th century BCE).3

In modern terms:

One conversation leads to three introductions
One decision creates ten new options
One uncomfortable move reveals what actually matters
One risk taken builds internal trust with yourself

Opportunities don’t stack neatly in front of you. They branch. This aligns with network theory research showing that social and professional networks expand exponentially through active engagement rather than passive waiting (Granovetter, 1973).4

Performance Is a Bias Toward Movement

From a performance psychology perspective, this matters because stagnation is dangerous. When people stop moving forward, they don’t just pause. They drift.

Drift leads to:

Overthinking
Numbing behaviors
Comfort-seeking
Loss of self-trust
Eventually, self-sabotage

Taking action isn’t just about growth. It’s about staying alive and aligned. Self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000) emphasizes that autonomous action — movement driven by internal motivation — is essential for psychological well-being and sustained performance.5

The Real Quote You Should Live By

Forget who said it, the truth is this:

Opportunities multiply when you prove to yourself that you are an action taker.

Not perfectly or fearlessly or with guarantees. Just intentionally.

Here’s the deal: if you decide, take action and realize you made a poor decision. Just make another decision! More action.

That’s how performance compounds. That’s how confidence rebuilds. That’s how momentum returns. As Csikszentmihalyi (1990) documented in his research on optimal experience, it is through engaged action — not passive contemplation — that individuals achieve flow states and meaningful progress.6

References

Note: The original attribution of “Opportunities multiply as they are taken” remains apocryphal, with no definitive source in Sun Tzu’s authenticated works. The principle, however, finds substantial support in contemporary behavioral science and performance psychology literature.

Footnotes

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W.H. Freeman and Company. ↩
Schwartz, B. (2004). The paradox of choice: Why more is less. Harper Perennial. ↩
Sun Tzu. (circa 5th century BCE). The art of war (L. Giles, Trans.). Retrieved from various scholarly editions. ↩
Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360-1380. https://doi.org/10.1086/225469 ↩
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227-268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01 ↩
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. Harper & Row. ↩