The focus of today's blog is adversity. When faced with adversity, I believe
there is an opportunity waiting to be discovered. Everybody faces
adversity. It's how you and I respond to adversity that will be one
of the greatest determining factors of how successful we will become.
Consider this: Nearly every opportunity that turned into a successful endeavor was first found in a moment of adversity or to fill a specific need.
Take a look at the paper clip. It wasn't invented because someone thought it would be fun to twist a piece of wire together. It was invented so that people could have a way to hold papers together without damaging them.
Think back to when you first learned how to ride a bike. Remember all the skinned knees, false starts, and slamming on the brakes too hard because you were so nervous? Remember the feeling you had, that exhilaration you felt when finally, you could race down the street without the training wheels?
In 1968, I was hospitalized with rheumatic fever for two weeks and spent another four months home in bed. It wasn't easy. I remember laying in bed day after day wondering if this was ever going to end. Finally, in May of 1968, I emerged from my bed. It was a long, tough road over the next couple of years trying to build back the strength in my body that I had lost.
It was one of the most physically and mentally challenging experiences of my life. Little did I know that four years later, at the height of the Vietnam War, that illness kept me out of the draft and the front lines. That adversity I experienced probably saved my life.
When faced with adversity, the real challenge is staying positive and recognizing there may be an opportunity and the potential to transform yourself and the world around you.
Here is your Sales Nugget: When faced with adversity, look for the opportunity.
What adversity have you faced and how did you handle it?
Would love to hear your thoughts.