Not long ago I had one of those weeks where everything that could go wrong, did. I mean everything - both personal and professional. Try as I might I couldn’t get anything to go my way. This series of failures sapped my strength and killed my normally optimistic attitude. At one point, in a fit of anger, I shouted out loud, “what else could possibly go wrong!” At that moment – as soon as the words came out of my mouth – everything that could go wrong started flashing through my mind. My thoughts turned negative and, admitting defeat, I just sat and stewed over my circumstances.
But deep inside of me a little voice cried out. It pushed through my anger and negative thinking and said, “Jeb, you have got to stop focusing on the negative. Don’t you know that you become what you think about? You’re just making things worse. You are a winner and winners don’t quit. Get your butt out of that chair and start looking for solutions.” That was a wake-up call. I knew that I had to change my thoughts. I had to start focusing on the possibilities and find the opportunities. I had to will myself to get up and fight back. I could not allow my adversity to keep me down.
I remembered a passage from The All-Star Sales Book by Billy Cox. In the passage Cox says, “I’ve always heard that when life knocks you down you need to land on your back, because if you can look up, you can get up.” He goes on to say that the defining difference between average people and all-stars is “when All-Stars get knocked down, they get back up. They refuse to stay down for long. Although bruised and sometimes wounded, they pick themselves up and start over again.” It was the perfect message at the perfect time for me.
The reality is, sooner or later we are all going to experience, setbacks, defeat, adversity, failure, and even tragedy. No one is immune. And when it happens it won’t always be easy to maintain a positive attitude, keep your enthusiasm, or see the opportunity in your adversity. When it happens to you, like me, there is a real possibility that you will become overwhelmed, you will feel self-pity, and you will cry out – “why me.” This happens because you are human. But somehow, we must find a way to shake ourselves out of this because the difference between success and failure is most often how we deal with adversity.
Later, after I had regained my composure, I thought about the voice that had given me the wake-up call. It occurred to me that this voice was one of the keys to dealing with failure. Where had it come from? How did it find its way through my clouded, negative thoughts and get my attention. How did in know that I needed the wake-up call? How do we develop this voice? Is this where successful people find the will to keep going? Is there a secret?
After thinking about this more, the answer became clear. That internal voice that lifted me up when I was ready to quit was a result of all of the work I had done to invest in myself before adversity found me. That voice was the child of the hundreds of hours of motivational and inspirational audio programs I had listened to, of the books I had read, the podcasts I subscribed to, seminars, speakers, prayer and the myriad other sources I had used to train my mind, body, and spirit. It was there because I had paid for it in advance by investing in myself.
You see, just as we invest our money into our 401(k) and retirement accounts so that we will be taken care of in retirement, we must also invest in our mind, body, and spirit so that we will be taken care when we face adversity and failure. Unfortunately, most people wait until it is too late. They don’t read books and articles, exercise, attend seminars, pray or listen to audio programs until after adversity strikes. When everything is going their way, they see no reason for this. And, these are the same folks who think that highly successful people are gifted with special and unique powers that give them incredible persistence in the face of failure.
But in reality, successful people, through regular training, have simply taught themselves to be persistent and to get up when knocked down. They have learned through study that even though they cannot always change their particular circumstances, they can change how they respond. And on their worst days, when they are blinded by frustration, depression, and anger, they have developed a little voice on the inside that delivers the wake up call, “stop whining, get up, keep going, you are a winner and winners never quit.”
The Small Voice of Adversity - To learn more about this author, visit Jeb Blount's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 |
Related Articles |
|
 The Small Voice of Adversity
|
| |
Successful people, through regular training, have simply taught themselves to be persistent and to get up when knocked down. They have learned through study that even though they cannot always change their particula...
|
|
Never Give Up! The Power of Determination
|
| |
 In a previous issue of success strategies, I talked about the importance of taking action toward your goals, dreams and desires. But one of the most important qualities you will need to develop in order to continue ...
|
|
Your Seed of Greatness (Three Secrets to Using Adversity to Become Great)
|
| |
What can we learn from James Blake’s journey through adversity to greatness? The following are three keys to making adversity work for you:
|
|
Discernment
|
| |
How can we experience our authentic voice?
As discussed in Part Two, authentic messages can be recognized as internal positively-phrased directives. In this way they are unlike authoritative "no" messages which...
|
|
Let's step in the puddles
|
| |
When times are tough it could be the best time to dance
|
 |
Related Businesses - Evan Elite Authors |
|
Accessible Business Consultants
Dave Turkin, President, of Accessible Business Consultants is a full service business consultant that has over 32 years of experience working with small-medium size businesses. Dave has designed and implemented numerous business and marketing plans, designed internal programs for accounting and operational procedures. He has analyzed businesses and prepared strategic plans setting budgets for growth, expansion and business restructuring.
He currently sits on the Board of Directors of various corporations as an advisor. For many years he has been the Business Coach to many executives offering advice and guidance from old and established companies as well as new companies just getting started.
Dave has the ability to analyze a business quickly and get a strong indication as to the necessary steps to improve operations, productivity and profitability. - Visit Accessible Business Consultants's Website |
|
Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales success or one of the many who have failed to change? So what are you doing to change those results? Let’s be honest, with companies moving globally and at lightening speeds, the traditional business solutions are outdated and dead. My approach moves your business out of its comfort zone and secures your competitive advantage now. If you are seeking to increase sales, build customer loyalty, create a culture of great attitudes or just achieve some sleep filled nights, then we should talk because my clients have experienced exactly those types of results. Learn more about customer loyalty at http://www.processspecialist.com/customer-loyalty.htm Give me a call at 219.759.5601 for a free strategy session. P.S. If you are seeking a motivational speaker, sales trainer or small business expert that will leave your audience smiling and remembering, please feel free to contact me at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
|
Dianne Crampton
Dianne Crampton is an Executive Leadership Coach and Team Building Consultant and creator of the TIGERS team development model. For the past twenty years she has helped leaders and teams achieve goals with high levels of collaboration and teamwork.
Crampton is a published author. Her contribution to Working Together: Diversity As Opportunity was endorsed by Stephen Covey. She has written for trade magazines. Merrill Lynch nominated her business for Inc. Magazine’s regional small business and entrepreneurial awards. Her work with Native Americans was recognized at a United Nations sponsored conference in 1994.
The TIGERS model passed two rigorous validation studies in 1992 and 1994. The TIGERS Survey is able to measure and track team development over time.
Dianne is also the creator and distributor of the TIGERS Team Wheel game. This game helps groups identify behaviors that build collaborative groups and behaviors that cause conflict, morale problems, production failures, and misunderstandings.
For more information, or to subscribe to TigerTracks, a free monthly leadership and team newsletter go to http://www.corevalues.com - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
|
The Evan Elite Authors program is currently in beta phase. For details please contact us.
|
|
|
Jeb Blount
(Visit Jeb's Website)
Jeb Blount is CEO of The Sales Leadership
Group, author of PowerPrinciples, the
creator of the popular internet sales
community, www.Sale
sGravy.com and the host of the top
rated Sales Motivation Podcast on iTunes,
SalesGravy: PowerPrinciples. Considered
one of the leading experts in sales and
sales leadership with over 20 years
experience in Fortune 500 sales and
marketing, Jeb holds a core philosophy
that in sales and life there are a handful
of basics, which if focused on intently,
will drive peak performance and
achievement. He seeks to remove complexity
from inevitable challenges, and instead,
focuses individuals and businesses on key
actions that deliver quick and sustainable
results.
www.jebaud
io.com
www.reac
hsales.com
|
|
|
|
![[Get Copyright Permissions]](http://license.icopyright.net/images/icopy-w.gif){kind=small}
