The quote suggests that valuable opportunities are often overlooked because they arrive in the form of demanding or unglamorous work. The image of overalls turns opportunity into a worker rather than an obvious prize, emphasising the difference between how people may imagine opportunity and how it often appears in practice. Progress may require effort before its potential rewards become visible.

More broadly, the saying links opportunity with willingness to act. It implies that recognising a possibility is not enough; a person must also be prepared to undertake the labour attached to it. The observation can apply to careers, enterprise, learning and other long-term goals where worthwhile prospects involve inconvenience, uncertainty or sustained effort. At the same time, it presents a particular view of opportunity centred on individual work and does not account for differences in access, circumstances or resources that can also shape whether opportunities are available or achievable.