How High Do You Bounce?

[GT Bulmer]

Hello:

Fellow Forum members know that I subscribe to the iLearningGlobal service and that I receive regular, motivational messages in my email via the iLG Leading EDGE program.

Here is a recent one that I particularly like, and that I think many of us can relate to and draw inspiration from:

How High Do You Bounce?

"The test of success is not what you do when you are on top. Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom." — George S. Patton

What kind of bounce do you have? How well do you do when everything goes wrong? How resilient are you in the face of overwhelming opposition? The ability to bounce back, keep things in perspective and then begin to climb again are all vital characteristics of those who ultimately achieve success.

On the front porch of an old farm house, hanging from a rusty nail was a sign that said much about, the bounce-ability, persistence and resilience of, the farmer who had lived there for 75 years. The sign read: Burned out by drought, drowned out by flood, ate out by jack rabbits, sold out by sheriff -- STILL HERE!

Everyone has or will face adversity, challenges or obstacles. The determining factor for your success in the coming years will be; what will you do when the adversity comes and you hit bottom? Will you persist or panic? Will you murmur or ponder? Will you look for reasons to push forward or will you find excuses to quit or give up? Will you join in the group griping and pity parties in crying how unfair it is, or will you explore the numerous opportunities which are ahead of you?

Sometimes success comes from simply showing up day after day after day. Often in life, and in business, it is a war of attrition where more and more of the competition simply quits because the frustration, failure and setbacks seem so devastating. But to those peak performers who understand the power and importance of their bounce – they simply see any challenge or difficulty as an opportunity to show their metal, test their mental toughness and prove their potential.

Working on your bounce is important, especially given the challenges of a global market and the difficult economic challenges of today. Perspective, resilience, determination, vision – all of these will help you improve your bounce and enable you to survive the present and achieve the extraordinary in the future.

~ End ~

I receive these Leading EDGE emails from iLearningGlobal every day and draw encouragement and inspiration from them.

Let me ask you: How high do YOU Bounce?

... Comments?

GT

[mbrand2222]

Thanks GT!
Always good stuff from you. Keep up the good work!

[GT Bulmer]

Hi, Mary:

Thanks for popping in and posting an encouraging comment - much appreciated!

GT

[Trent Brownrigg]

This is very inspirational. Thanks GT.

[GT Bulmer]

Hi, Trent:

Thanks for the comment. I hope others find it informative and inspirational also.

GT

[David Hurley]

Hi GT,

Very timely post as I've let my online business drift in the last week or so due to other stuff going on... I'm just relaxing and waiting for the bounce to kick in with renewed energy. In a way, I quite enjoy these periods of "waiting for the bounce"... Perhaps some would say I should be more proactive, but actually, I think "waiting for the bounce" IS a kind of relaxed proactive inactivity!

And turning up here to tell you about it is part of the "re-emerging" process!

[GT Bulmer]

Hi, David:

Thanks for "emerging" and for posting your personal insight on the subject. I hear what you're saying about "waiting for the bounce" and I think it is quite appropriate sometimes.

That is similar to something else I read somewhere (?) in the past day or two. The writer referred to the talents of creative people (writers, artists, etc.) and how you can't force creativity or inspiration; sometimes, you have to sit back and wait for it to happen.

I have experienced that on numerous occasions with articles I write for clients and with my own articles and blogs. I will sit here for a day, forcing the words onto the screen without any real spirit to it. Then, another day, I'll suddenly be inspired with the briefest of notions and I'll go back to that uninspired work and revamp it in a fraction of the time, or scrap it entirely and produce a new, spirited work in a much shorter time.

I think the regeneration you are speaking of is similar to that. There is a time to be proactive in the process and there is a time to relax and let it happen naturally.

In either case, I'm glad you have re-emerged!

GT

[David Hurley]

Hi GT,

I'd say "re-emergING" rather than "re-emerged"!

[MichelleJ]

Sometimes waiting for the bounce is just as important as actually doing the bouncing. There are times when one needs to step back and take a breath to get fresh inpiration.

Great post GT very inspirational.

MichelleJ

[David Hurley]

"The test of success is not what you do when you are on top. Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom." — George S. Patton

Hi GT,

Could this be another clue to Patton's success? -

"Gen. George S. Patton believed he was the greatest soldier who ever lived. He made himself believe he would never falter through doubt. This absolute faith in himself as a strategist and master of daring infected his entire army, until the men of the second American corps in Africa, and later the third army in France, believed they could not be defeated under his leadership."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_S._Patton

[GT Bulmer]

... Could this be another clue to Patton's success?

"Gen. George S. Patton believed he was the greatest soldier who ever lived..."

Hi, David:

Belief, faith and unfaltering confidence in oneself are definitely key factors of personal success. As your quote pointed out, such faith and confidence, properly expressed (marketed?), can move mountains... and people.

GT