I have always believed that opportunity comes knocking for almost everyone. The difference is that only some choose to open the door and welcome opportunity inside.
In certain cases, the breakthrough is an idea for an acquisition. For some, it is an invention or a new product; for others, it is the forging of a partnership, a second chance, an escape route; and for others, it is simply a meeting that provokes them to become an entrepreneur.
For Tiny Rowland, that chance came when Angus Ogilvy asked him to become joint managing director of the London and Rhodesia Mining and Land Company - "just a ranching company with a couple of tin-pot mines". Mr Rowland persuaded the sleepy board of what became Lonrho to swap £200,000 worth of their shares for some car dealerships he owned. Within 20 years, his shareholding had multiplied in value 1,000 times, and Lonrho was one of the most famous businesses in Britain.