Don’t Let Setbacks Set You Back _______________________________________________________________________________________
In order to be really successful in life, you have to learn to deal with adversity. If you study the really successful people in the world, both past and present, you will find that they are people who keep trying even when they consistently fail. Abraham Lincoln, arguably the greatest president the United States ever had, is a prime example of a man who refused to let failure defeat him. Consider the record of failures Lincoln compiled over the years: in 1831, he failed in business; in 1832, he was defeated for the Legislature; in 1833, he again failed in business; in 1836, Lincoln suffered a nervous breakdown; in 1838, he was defeated for Speaker of the House; in 1840, he was defeated for the Elector; in 1843, he was defeated for the Senate; in 1856, he was defeated for the vicepresidency; in 1856, he was again defeated for the Senate. Finally, in 1860, he won something…the Presidency of the United States. Isn’t that incredible? Lincoln’s not the only person to rise above his failures and become successful. In fact, history is full of such examples. Walt Disney was fired as a newspaper reporter because he was not a “creative thinker.” And did you know that he was also given a dishonorable discharge from the United States Marine Corps School? Leo Tolstoy flunked out of college and Winston Churchill failed the sixth grade. Jim Plunkett was cut from his High School football team. Both Mike Tyson and Larry Holmes were defeated a number of times as amateurs. Curt Leslie lost the first eleven contests that he entered in powerlifting. Bill Russell was cut from both his Junior and Senior High School basketball teams when he was in the ninth grade. Roger Staubach was at best a mediocre football player in High School. O.J. Simpson was such a bad running back in Junior College that they made him a defensive tackle. And here’s something that really boggles the mind. Sholly Mahn was completely paralyzed as a child, but went on to win two gold medals in the 1964 Olympics at the age of fifteen. There are literally thousands of people who have achieved greatness by overcoming failure and/or adversity. The world belongs to such people. Perhaps Martin Luther King Jr. put it best when he said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in moments of challenge amid controversy.” You know, most people invariably assume that adversity is inherently bad. We don’t believe that for a second. Show us a man who hasn’t had adversity in this life and we show you someone who hasn’t lived. Adversity constitutes a sign of life. In fact, we would venture to say that the more adversity you have, the more alive you are. Adversity helps you grow, it builds character and endurance. Ardis Whitman said, “If we live our lives well in suffering, hardship, or failure, if we can use all our talents and courage, then something of great worth will emerge and be added to the common good.” This longing to beat the odds, to conquer our own weaknesses, has carried humanity through its long history. Undoubtedly, the true measure of any man is how well he deals with adversity. Of course, the question still remains . . . how do you deal with adversity? Well, in all candor, that’s not the easiest question in the world to answer. After all, people who have a whole lot of letters behind their name have written entire books about that very subject. We don’t claim to be as intelligent or prolific, but we do believe we can give you a few suggestions that might help. First of all, we think Saint Francis had a pretty good idea. How does it go? “God grant me the strength to change the things I can, the patience to bear those things that I cannot change and the wisdom to know
the difference.” There are a lot of things in this life over ∞ WELLNESS FOR LIFE ∞ which you have no control; natural disasters or __________________________________________________________________ what insurance companies call “Acts of God.” On the other hand, we’re not exactly helpless . . . The Rocky Bleir Story. otherwise the notion of “free will” would never have been necessary. It has been said that the trials Have you ever read the Rocky Bleir story? If you of life are far less important than how one deals haven’t, do so. It will give you the courage to believe that no with them. Sometimes you can’t choose what form of adversity is too great to overcome if you believe in yourself. Bleir was a rookie running back for the Pittsburgh happens to you, but you can choose how you will Steelers when he was drafted into the United States Army, react to the situation. As Saint Francis suggests, during the Vietnam War. While fighting on the front line, Bleir there are two major forces in life, extrinsic and had his right leg almost blown off when he stepped on a land intrinsic. We have little control over extrinsic mine. His injury was so bad that doctors wanted to amputate his forces such as illness, injuries, or pain. What leg, but Bleir wouldn’t hear any of that type of talk. Not only really matters is how you handle the intrinsic did he refuse to have his leg amputated, he swore that he would forces. That’s what we have control over. once again play professional football. Amazingly, Bleir kept his Think about Mohammed Ali, one of the promise. Not only did he go on to play professional football for greatest fighters who ever lived . . . maybe the eleven seasons, but he also became an All-Pro running back, leading the Steelers to an unprecedented four Super Bowl greatest. After being stricken with Parkinson’s championships. Here is what Bleir said about his comeback. It disease, Ali could have quit on life and I don’t will give you instant inspiration: think anyone would have blamed him. Can you After my injury, there was never any doubt in my imagine what it must be like for Ali? He went mind that I would play professional football again. I knew that from being one of the most graceful athletes in the if I was willing to work hard and kept my faith in God I would world . . . remember, he floated like a butterfly . . . be back. I believed strongly in God and in myself. I knew that to an absolute motor invalid. Now handicapped, between us there was nothing that couldn’t be handled. I knew I simple daily chores like putting a key in a lock are would do it. I had to, and I did! a physical challenge. No one could blame him for Is that great or what? quitting. But Ali is not a quitter. It’s not in his character. Every time Ali got knocked down in life he always got back up. We are not saying he never doubted himself, we are sure he did at times, but he never quit. The Parkinson’s disease was something Ali couldn’t control, but he had the wisdom and patience to bear it and he had the vision and courage to learn from it. He couldn’t control his circumstances, but he did control his response to his circumstances…THAT’S WHY HE’S ALI! Like Ali, when disaster strikes you have a choice to either give up or go ahead. The real champions of life go forward despite being afraid or blocked by obstacles. They do what has to be done no matter how hopeless things look or how overwhelming the odds. They are aware that fighting back may not always restore things to normal, but trying always makes things better and provides immense self-satisfaction. They are disciples of the classic slogan, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” We also believe that persistence is of paramount importance when dealing with adversity. When things really look hopeless, that’s where you have to really suck it up. You have to think positive. You have to believe that you can still achieve your objective provided you persist. You have to rid yourself of negatives…nothing is hopeless, nothing is impossible. Such self-defeating words are for fatalist, not intelligent people. Never say never! People who say that a state of affairs is beyond their control are defeated before they even get started. They are just giving themselves an excuse for giving up too soon. To be successful, you need to look for the circumstance you want, and if they aren’t available, then you manufacture them. Successful people don’t look for excuses. They look for opportunities. They know that there is always a way to make things work out. That’s the type of mindset you need when dealing with adversity. It’s always too soon to quit…never quit, and nothing is impossible…nothing.
Of course, when things get tough and your back is to the wall, that’s when you really have to plug away. Refuse to quit. Don’t even entertain the thought. No matter how overwhelming the situation seems, it can be handled provided you’re patient and persistent. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at the time! How do you handle adversity? One step at a time! By reinforcing small bits of behavior, eventually you’ll get your desired response. Think about this, it took Thomas Edison almost ten thousand unsuccessful experiments before he invented the light bulb. It took Jim Fix more than fifteen years to find someone to publish his best selling book, Everything You Wanted to Know About Running. Steve Young sat on the bench behind Joe Montana for seven years before he got a chance to start for the San Francisco 49ers. And listen to this, Joe Tanner spent seventeen years in the minor leagues before he was brought up to the major leagues. Be assured that God is with those who persist patiently. Note also that tough times never last, but tough people do. Norman Vincent Peale said something very profound concerning this very issue. He said, “If you think defeat, you will foster the circumstances that lead to defeat. If you think inadequacy, you will ultimately fail to perform in an adequate manner. But if you think victory and success…really think it and believe it, really believe it…you will perform in a manner that leads to victory and success.”
Do What You Enjoy Doing ___________________________________________________________________________
Now here is one more little piece of advice. If you want to get the most out of what you are doing in life, do the things that you enjoy. In other words, make your work a labor of love. The people who are really successful in life are those who really enjoy their profession. They work harder and longer because they love what they are doing…when you really enjoy doing something it’s not labor it’s…well, fun. Think about weightlifting for a second…the sport is extremely hard work. You probably can’t name a job that is more backbreaking or intense then lifting weights. You know something though, the guys who are into the sport they don’t look at it as work. It is truly a labor of love for them. If they miss a day of training they get upset about it. We know guys who lift weights even when they are dead tired, sick, or injured, and they will never complain about it. They love it. That is the way it is with most successful people, they literally work their butts off, but love doing it because they enjoy what they are doing. It’s not work to them, it’s a joy. They get so engrossed in what they are trying to accomplish that they are totally oblivious to the effort they are putting forth. Usually, they don’t even know what time of the day it is. They work harder and longer them everyone else and they love every minute of it. That is why they are successful. Unfortunately, most Americans are not like that. As soon as they find a job they stop working. When Lee Iacocca was asked how many people he had working for him he said “Oh, about 50% of them.” He was probably right too. Most Americans don’t like the work they are doing consequently they don’t do a good job. Actually, there was a study done by H. M. Greenberg in which interviewed over 180,000 people about their employment. Guess what he found out? Over 80% of the individuals surveyed did not like their jobs. Can you believe that…80%? No wonder America produces more defective merchandise then any other place in the world and is ranked second to last in production when compared to the most highly industrialized nations in the world. If you don’t like what you are doing you will never do a good job. And that is the way most successful people function…they are not motivated necessarily by the money, the fame or the status. They are intrinsically driven by the shear joy of what they are doing and what they are accomplishing. Work gives us more then just our living, it gives us our life. Man is never really happy unless he is expanding himself and making a contribution to others. Leo Rosten says “Happiness comes only when we push our brains and hearts to the farthest reaches of which we are capable…the purpose of life is to matter-to count, to stand for something, to have it make some difference that we lived at all.”