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ONE
MAN'S TRAVELS THROUGH ADVERSITY
Source:
Focus with Farber Series, Barry
Farber,
author, Issue: Focus with Farber on Adversity.
TONY
Wainright is a successful advertising director, director
of six public companies, writer of books, movies, and plays,
and a consultant to Fortune 500 companies across the United
States.
One
of his secrets to success is that he doesn't see rejection as
failure or adversity. Once,
there was a company he wanted for an advertising account. The
first time he went to see them, he was told the timing was wrong.
Wainright pursued this company for six years. He thought about
giving up, but he kept going. Then one day, in the sixth year,
the company told him,
"We're
starting a new division. How would you like the account?"
He walked out of their offices that day with $30 million
worth of their business. Wainright's
confidence, and his belief in persistence, told him to keep
trying.
"The
analogy I would use is if you stand by a door, the odds are
at some juncture the door will open. If you walk away saying,
'Gee, the door is closed and I can't get in,' you'll never
get inside. I'm willing to stand by the door."
Wainright
wasn't always so confident or so successful. When he was 29-years
old, three hardships struck him at once. First, he became ill
and required major surgery. Then he lost his job. And most seriously,
his second daughter was born with spina bifida and died within
a year.
"I
got down on my knees and I remember thinking, 'There are two
ways to go,' " says Wainright. "I'm
either going to pull myself together or I'm not. I did."
The
good news is that from adversity two things happened.
First,
I worked harder than ever before and became successful. Second,
I never forgot what happened to me. From that moment on, I dedicated
part of my life to helping other people, doing things I never
would have thought of had I not gone through adversity myself.
"For
me, there are three things that helped me get through adversity.
One is prayer. Another is the absolute belief that tomorrow
will be better than today. And third, though it may sound
like a cliché, is that I don't take things personally.
Instead, I figure out a way to overcome it."
That's
the best advice I can give. Don't dwell on things. And don't
feel sorry for yourself when something happens. It happens to
everyone, and it happens more than once. The ultimate winners
are the ones who never give up.
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TOP
10 THINGS TO DO WHEN ADVERSITY HITS!
| 1.
Write down the most important thing you are trying to accomplish,
followed by the small steps you can take to get it done. This
will help you concentrate and focus. |
| 2.
Always finish your commitments. Never stop on the 1-yard
line. Tough times never last, tough people do. Stop now and
you will never find that inner strength you have. |
| 3.
Create a vision of your goal. Post it where you can see it
every day. Focus all your energy on what you're trying to
accomplish and what you need to get through each task. |
| 4.
Do more than you're expected to do on a project or in
your job. Increase your service to others, and that action
will often turn around some of the adversity and difficulties
that you're going through. |
| 5.
Think about the benefits of this adversity, knowing what will
be accomplished at the end. How does it benefit you? How does
it benefit the people you're serving? |
| 6.
Look for the lessons adversity is teaching. The highest achievers
in the world understand that failure is the most valuable
teacher they can have. |
| 7.
Apply the lessons you learn to every part of your life. Failure
in one part of your life might teach you lessons about how
to deal with other parts, e.g., setbacks in your business
may tell you to take your life in a whole new direction or
may teach you that you need to improve the way you relate
to people. |
| 8.
Live in the present. Put stickers around the house that say,
"What am I thinking about now?" Are you living in
today or worrying about tomorrow? Worry is a negative activity
that diminishes strength, confidence, and energy. Conquer
something today, and you don't have to worry about it tomorrow. |
| 9.
Live by Albert Einstein's three rules of work: (1) Out of
clutter, find simplicity. (2) From discord, find harmony.
(3) In the middle of difficulty, find opportunity. Most people
are so busy knocking opportunity that they don't hear opportunity
knocking. |
10.
Put the last nine tips to use before adversity strikes, when
times are good, when your confidence is high. Remember, success
breeds success.
"The good things which belong to prosperity are to be
wished, but the good things that belong to adversity are to
be admired." Seneca |
Source:
Focus with Farber
Series, Barry Farber,
author, Issue: Focus with Farber on
Adversity.
Visit
Barry Farber's site now
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"Freedom
is Knowledge"
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