--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Opportunity knocks but some people are…" description: "\"“Opportunity knocks but some people are too busy watching TV.”\" — Wayne Gerard Trotman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/wayne-gerard-trotman-3291_distraction_opportunity-knocks-but-some-people-are-t_55057.png" --- # Opportunity knocks but some people are too busy watching TV. ![“Opportunity knocks but some people are too busy watching TV.” quote by Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/wayne-gerard-trotman-3291_distraction_opportunity-knocks-but-some-people-are-t_55057.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/wayne-gerard-trotman-3291_distraction_opportunity-knocks-but-some-people-are-t_55057.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/wayne-gerard-trotman-3291_distraction_opportunity-knocks-but-some-people-are-t_55057.png) > ““Opportunity knocks but some people are too busy watching TV.”” [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It highlights that many miss chances because they prioritize passive entertainment over proactive effort. **In simple terms:** Missing chances due to distraction. Key Takeaway Distractions can cost opportunities. Themes Opportunity Distraction Proactivity Priorities Time Management Mood Motivated Reflective Urgent Type Motivational Observational When to use this quote - Job searching - Entrepreneurial ventures - Personal growth - Networking events - Skill development Key Concepts Opportunity cost Attention focus Life choices Practical Applications - Career advancement - Business development Questions to Reflect On - What distractions are you allowing to dominate your time? - How can you shift focus to seize opportunities? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Busy Watching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busy-watching-767757/) [Distraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distraction/) [Lack of ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lack-of-ambition/) [Laziness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laziness/) [Opportunity knocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity-knocks/) [People Busy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-busy/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Too busy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-busy/) [Tv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tv/) [Watching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watching/) [Watching tv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watching-tv/) ## Related quotes > [When I was younger, I barely left my room because I was busy watching clips of my favorite actors and performers on the Internet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dove-cameron/when-i-was-younger-i-barely-left-my-room-because-i-was-busy-watching/) [Dove Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dove-cameron/) > [You can't achieve your dreams if you're too busy watching everyone else live theirs. Invest in YOU!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-achieve-your-dreams-if-you-re-too-busy-watching-everyone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Were so busy watching out for whats just ahead of us that we dont take time to enjoy where we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sweeney/were-so-busy-watching-out-for-whats-just-ahead-of-us-that-we-dont/) [Ash Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sweeney/) > [We're so busy watching out for what's just ahead of us that we don't take time to enjoy where we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/we-re-so-busy-watching-out-for-what-s-just-ahead-of-us-that-we-don-t/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [Sometimes it seems things go by too quickly. We are so busy watching out for what's just ahead of us that we don't take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/sometimes-it-seems-things-go-by-too-quickly-we-are-so-busy-watching/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Laziness isn't sitting on the couch watching tv when your supposed to wash dishes, laziness is letting the sink overflow while you watch tv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-am-not-telling-you-my-name-u-f-ing-pervert/laziness-isn-t-sitting-on-the-couch-watching-tv-when-your-supposed-to/) [I Am NOT Telling You My Name U F-ing Pervert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-am-not-telling-you-my-name-u-f-ing-pervert/) > [There are more important things in life than Facebook and Twitter, like watching TV, and taking naps!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-more-important-things-in-life-than-facebook-and-twitter-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's a lack of ambition in politics in terms of what we expect from the government, what it means to have a state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-and-the-queens/there-s-a-lack-of-ambition-in-politics-in-terms-of-what-we-expect/) [Christine and the Queens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-and-the-queens/) > [“The most dangerous things in life are overeating and the lack of ambition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/the-most-dangerous-things-in-life-are-overeating-and-the-lack-of/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [We have now an American political party and a European one. Not all Americans who vote for the European party want to become Europeans.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-mansfield/we-have-now-an-american-political-party-and-a-european-one-not-all/) [Harvey Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-mansfield/) > [Whatever you think of Facebook, you cannot fault it for lack of ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whatever-you-think-of-facebook-you-cannot-fault-it-for-lack-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Your lack of ambition is truly remarkable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/your-lack-of-ambition-is-truly-remarkable/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [It's the lack of ambition that cripples most people, and makes them so pedestrian in the advertising/creative business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/it-s-the-lack-of-ambition-that-cripples-most-people-and-makes-them-so/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [not only have children most certainly a right to their own ambitions, but their own lack of ambitions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/not-only-have-children-most-certainly-a-right-to-their-own-ambitions/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [“A burning desire to be and to do is the starting point from which the dreamer must take off. Dreams are not born of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/a-burning-desire-to-be-and-to-do-is-the-starting-point-from-which-the-2/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) ## More by Wayne Gerard Trotman > [“And the blind man said to the deaf man, "Do you see what I hear?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/and-the-blind-man-said-to-the-deaf-man-do-you-see-what-i-hear/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“Fashion is one of the greatest forms of manipulation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/fashion-is-one-of-the-greatest-forms-of-manipulation/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“When you repay evil with evil, you become evil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/when-you-repay-evil-with-evil-you-become-evil/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“So many things seem impossible until you try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/so-many-things-seem-impossible-until-you-try/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [Today, I attended a friend's birthday party dressed as a ninja. I soon discovered that ninjas are very misunderstood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/today-i-attended-a-friend-s-birthday-party-dressed-as-a-ninja-i-soon/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“To try is to accept the possibility of failure. Simply do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/to-try-is-to-accept-the-possibility-of-failure-simply-do/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“Always dress well, you’ll feel great and get better treatment from strangers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/always-dress-well-you-ll-feel-great-and-get-better-treatment-from/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [Armon stared into the wild darkness of his opponent and saw a reflection of his own fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/armon-stared-into-the-wild-darkness-of-his-opponent-and-saw-a/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [Change. Adapt. Bend so as not to be broken. Let opportunity guide your actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/change-adapt-bend-so-as-not-to-be-broken-let-opportunity-guide-your/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“One of the most devastating symptoms of pride is the unwillingness to forgive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/one-of-the-most-devastating-symptoms-of-pride-is-the-unwillingness-to/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“Laughter is much better than anger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/laughter-is-much-better-than-anger/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“Perfect understanding of the infinite requires limitless intellectual capacity; our undivided attention is better suited for humbler aspirations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/perfect-understanding-of-the-infinite-requires-limitless-intellectual/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“We should respect those able to choose love after enduring a lifetime of hate. It is the least we could do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/we-should-respect-those-able-to-choose-love-after-enduring-a-lifetime/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“May the scribes record it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/may-the-scribes-record-it/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“Professionalism is not just about making money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/professionalism-is-not-just-about-making-money/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) [Explore all 134 Wayne Gerard Trotman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) ## More Distraction quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/) [Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/) > [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [I spend a lot of time loathing the sentences that I put down on the page. Once I'm past that phase, it doesn't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-loathing-the-sentences-that-i-put-down-on-the/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [To really be of benefit to others as the Buddha always taught, we ourselves must first get out of the swamp. One of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/to-really-be-of-benefit-to-others-as-the-buddha-always-taught-we/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [As a social and as a personal force, religion has become a dependent variable. It does not originate; it reacts. It does not denounce;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/as-a-social-and-as-a-personal-force-religion-has-become-a-dependent/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [Not knowing how to feed the spirit, we try to muffle its demands in distraction...What matters is that one be for a time inwardly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/not-knowing-how-to-feed-the-spirit-we-try-to-muffle-its-demands-in/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [You have a number of choices. You could continue to always fight against people who are really distractions. They're people in the cheap seats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-thomas/you-have-a-number-of-choices-you-could-continue-to-always-fight/) [Clarence Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-thomas/) > [I feel very privileged to get to read and write and not to have to do things that I don't like, and I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/i-feel-very-privileged-to-get-to-read-and-write-and-not-to-have-to-do/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [Meditation is sticking to one thought. That single thought keeps away other thoughts; distraction of mind is a sign of its weakness; by constant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/meditation-is-sticking-to-one-thought-that-single-thought-keeps-away/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [“One of the defining symptoms of ADHD is distraction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-orlov/one-of-the-defining-symptoms-of-adhd-is-distraction/) [Melissa Orlov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-orlov/) > [Some days, who can stare at swathes of sky, leafage and bad-complected whale-gray streets, tailpipes and smokestacks orating sepia exhaust, or the smaller enthusiasms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-di-piero/some-days-who-can-stare-at-swathes-of-sky-leafage-and-bad-complected/) [W. S. Di Piero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-di-piero/) > [“the problem with reading off a screen isn’t resolution, eyestrain, or compatibility with reading in the bathtub: it’s that computers are seductive, they tempt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/the-problem-with-reading-off-a-screen-isn-t-resolution-eyestrain-or/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [“Distraction is your friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susane-colasanti/distraction-is-your-friend/) [Susane Colasanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susane-colasanti/) > [There are a lot of people who probably enjoyed 'Conversations with Friends' who are part of the system that is actively exploiting other people's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-rooney/there-are-a-lot-of-people-who-probably-enjoyed-conversations-with/) [Sally Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-rooney/) [Browse all 1,030 Distraction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distraction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Opportunity knocks but some people are too busy watching TV.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wayne Gerard Trotman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/opportunity-knocks-but-some-people-are-too-busy-watching-tv/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Distraction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/opportunity-knocks-but-some-people-are-too-busy-watching-tv/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/wayne-gerard-trotman-3291_distraction_opportunity-knocks-but-some-people-are-t_55057.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/wayne-gerard-trotman-3291_distraction_opportunity-knocks-but-some-people-are-t_55057.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/wayne-gerard-trotman-3291_distraction_opportunity-knocks-but-some-people-are-t_55057.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Opportunity knocks but some people are too busy watching TV.” — Wayne Gerard Trotman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Wayne Gerard Trotman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Opportunity knocks but some people are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/opportunity-knocks-but-some-people-are-too-busy-watching-tv/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/opportunity-knocks-but-some-people-are-too-busy-watching-tv/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```