Viewing adversity in a positive light(be it in business or everyday life) can sometimes amount to asking too much of some of us. As soon as a problem/difficulty appears to go on for longer than we feel we can tolerate. Or if it happens once too often for us to rationalize, we begin looking for someone or something to blame. Then the “Devil”(poor guy) gets accused of trying to make us fail.
Or someone in the “village” is fingered for “using remote control” to make our fortunes go sour. It can get worse – sometimes friends/relatives tell the affected person s/he must have done something wrong and ask him to pray for God to stop demonic attacks etc. This article presents timeless wisdom (based on testimonies by entrepreneurs of repute), and a narrative of a personal experience, that completely invalidate these frequently perpetuated myths.
Some People (Wrongly) Believe “Suffering” Only Comes To Those Who Do “Wrong”
Certain people wrongly believe that difficulty should never come the way of a person who strives honestly to achieve success – especially if s/he proclaims faith in God. Yet the evidence all around us proves irrevocably that it is often those who have passed through difficulty successfully, that end up achieving the successes they desire.
To drive home the point I’m trying to make here, I will refer to the very illuminating insight offered by a veteran entrepreneur – James R. Cook – in his best selling book “The Start up Entrepreneur”. He said that based on elaborate studies he had done of the lives of hundreds of entrepreneurs, he had come to the conclusion that there is a correlation between the amount of suffering a person undergoes before succeeding, and the degree of success s/he eventually achieves.
Going further, he explained that persons who set big goals for themselves should look forward to enduring long drawn periods of worry and painful adversity, adding that as the amount of suffering endured increases, so is the success ultimately recorded likely to increase too.
What Is The Purpose Of Suffering?
Any aspiring entrepreneur with a sound understanding of the “purpose of adversity” at the back of his/her mind, will be able to face squarely the business of paying his/her dues, ultimately, earning the right to enviable heights of success aimed for.
Jim Rohn advises that we should learn to view life as requiring us to succeed in spite of adversity and not in its absence. This is because, if there is no adversity, there cannot be achievement! Sounds simple – yet it CAN be so difficult to remember when one is going through adversity(I KNOW this because I have been “there” many times!). Which is why reading – as a habit – is essential. Reading helps to maintain mental stamina through repeated contact with words that communicate truths like those Jim Rohn shares, to us, so we can stay strong in those times of true testing.
A Personal Experience
I think I should give a personal example here. Some years ago, I placed an advertisement in The Guardian newspaper for a seminar, only to have a ZERO turnout of attendees on the scheduled date! After discussing about it for a while with a friend, I was able to arrive at 4 major faults with my plans/preparations that could have led to the problem. But rather than leave it at that, I decided to document the experience for use in future seminars as an EXAMPLE of how things can go wrong.
So, while still at the venue, I got my video cameraman to do a 10 minute recording of me, speaking about what had happened and what we believed had led to it. We deliberately added humour to the video clip by showing all the EMPTY seats in the seminar hall, and finally focusing on the wall clock, which showed it was already 1.00pm(planned seminar start time was 11.00am!).
You see, I made up my mind to use the lessons learnt from that “failure” to make myself better in every way possible. The memory of that failure DROVE me to be extra prepared for every project I undertake. And this has helped me win more high profile clients in my work.
It’s a habit I developed years ago – and it made me quite successful when I was in paid employment. Read my article titled “How To Turn A Major Blunder At Work Into A Career Advancement Opportunity ” to learn more.
Summary
So, let me challenge you. From today, stop asking why your plans are not going as well as another person’s. Begin to understand and appreciate the fact that you will have to find YOUR own unique path to achieve YOUR own success, which will require you to periodically deal with the challenge of unpleasant situations, in form of diverse visitations of adversity.
Know today that suffering – or adversity – is not bad – except you see it as bad. The perspective you adopt is what determines whether a particular experience is bad or good for you. If you choose to actively search for, and utilise the (ever present – but often hidden – potential equivalent) benefits of every experience of suffering you undergo, you will be better off for it over time.
PS: This article is based on a piece that was first published online on Submitted On March 22, 2011