Embracing Adversity in Your Business or Your Life
Written by: Don Miller
Posted on May 6, 2008
Filed Under Starting your Online Business
You might be thinking how can adversity be a tool for my home based business? On the surface it doesn’t sound right does it? The fact is if you have not faced adversity in your home based business, you will. It may happen today, tomorrow or sometime down the road, but be sure, it’s coming. How you deal with that adversity, is really the issue at hand. Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I’ll show you someone who has overcome adversity. What may seem like adversity to you, may not to others, but we all have a threshold that is going to get crossed. We have choices. We can react , usually with negative results, or we can respond, usually with a positive result.
Responding to Your Adversity
My love for baseball is well documented on this site if you are a regular reader. Naturally, I played when I was young. I still carry with me the life lessons I learned in those days Some 36 years ago I played baseball with and against a kid named Bobby. Generally he was punk. The kind of kid you want to fight rather than hang out with. We had played on the same team the year before. He was a punk then too, but he knew I couldn’t hit a curve ball.
When you are 15 years old and all that is important to you is baseball, not being able to hit a curve ball puts you in an adverse situation. I knew I had to overcome the fear of that baseball buzzing past my head. One Saturday morning our teams were plying one another. I decided this was the game it was going to happen. Today was the day my adversity was over. Bobby threw me two pitches, curve balls of course and frankly my knees buckled in fear. His next pitch was also a curve and it landed some 300 ft on the other side of the center field fence. Adversity overcome, not by running away from it but by walking through it. I still remember that to this day because it marks a point in my life when I decided to face adversity and rather than ignore it.
Adversity in your home based business will come in many forms. You may wake up one day and find your business gone, the result of hosting issues. You may receive an email from someone revealing to you someone on another site has attacked your character. More importantly you may check your bank account and the money is all gone, and there are still 15 days left in the month.
Reacting and Accepting the Responsibility
Many times we bring on the adversity we face on our own. Bad choices, bad decisions can lead to some real adversity and in a hurry. I remember my first stock market purchase. My greed overcame my good judgment and I lost what was a lot of money at the time. I learned, I paid tuition and later bought Home Depot stock, a much better decision. The point is when you make a bad choice, accept responsibility for it and move on. Placing blame on some one else wont get you through it any faster. Remember every situation has potential value
Nevertheless sometimes things confront us and we had no control over them happening. The difference between causing your own adversity and someone else causing it matters not. They both have the same effect.
Several years ago I was called to the hospital and told my wife had an aneurysm on her brain stem. Doctors told me she would not make it through the night and that I should make plans accordingly but through the grace of God she did. She spent 30 days in intensive care and every day it was the same thing. “Mr. Miller she isn’t going to make it”. Believe me all manner of thoughts entered my mind as each day passed, from blaming myself to blaming God to trying to negotiate a settlement with God. In the end I believe I am a better man because of the experience.
The Benefits of Adversity, Refining your Character
Your natural inclination when faced with adversity will be to get away from it and quickly. I am going to suggest to you that you take it on; head first .You will need perseverance to accomplish your goals with your business. Perseverance will come through adversity. I never really cared for that equation but have had it proven to me over and over. I don’t know what kind of adversity you are facing today or in your future. Much the way silver is refined with intense heat your character will be refined as you negotiate the heat of adversity. Whether its your business or your personal life read what Vince Lombardi said, “The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That’s real glory. That’s the essence of it.”
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Tags:, adversity, business, home based business
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6 Responses to “Embracing Adversity in Your Business or Your Life”
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Emabracing Adversity in Your Business or Your Life…
I ve got good news and bad news . The bad news is , you will face adversity in your life and in your business, you will get knocked down , you will feel defeated. The good news is, negotiating yourself or your business will make you stronger. The formu…
This is another great article Don, and, I think, one of the chief reasons for failure within any area of our life; be it in business, marriage, or in any other collaborative relationship forged through time to achieve a specific, measurable, result.
Adversity will indeed pay all of us a visit a time or two throughout life and business. And without fail, will usually come calling when we least expect it; that’s one of the reasons it can be such a difficult challenge to triumph over. Embracing the inevitability of adversity taking center stage in our business is one of the surest ways to minimize its impact on us. We are prepared for it. We are not blindsided by something completely unanticipated.
Maintaining an observant responsiveness to our business, or anything that is important to us, will better equip us to face whatever change adversity decides to launch our way.
Again, great article!
Hi Don,
Not exactly cheering, but so very true.
Adversity certainly shows us our vulnerability (uncomfortable but invaluable I think).
@Linda, I think you should have written this post, wow , thanks
@ Evan , you’re right not my cheery norm, but as you also said , so very true, I being an “experienced” man could write about many adverse situations on my life, so far none has killed me and I have grown from all. Thats the message I wanted to try and get across, adversity comes, but doesn’t have to defeat us
that’s a great reminder Don. Adversity comes in different shapes and forms, and some events are harsher than others but eventually we all need to gather ourselves and keep moving on… I’m trying so hard to do just that but it’s been a real challenge to overcome.
Pearl, Ive been keeping up with you, what you are going through is quite natural, I promise the day will come when you will look back on this time as a point where you grew stronger, time has a way of healing and time is what you need.
I remember going through the same thing you are, and one day I woke up and it was time to move forward, stay in touch young lady and let us know how you are doing