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As you probably have already figured out, the newsletter is one day late. I tried to get it done yesterday but I have to confess I was in Newport Beach walking along the beautiful beach and soaking in the Southern California sun with my wife. I just could not pull my toes out of the wonderful soft warm sand to go pound my computer keyboard. I am sure you will forgive my self indulgence. We flew home this morning so I figured I better get back to work and send out the newsletter. I do encourage you to get away from the rat race as often as possible. It is wonderful to get your batteries recharged. I want to deal today with the word ADVERSITY. The question you should ask yourself is not “What would I do if I had to deal with adversity in my life rather, How do I deal with adversity WHEN it looks me right in the eyes? Unless you live in a vacuum you will experience bad things in your life whether business or personal. I am certain it is a myth that there are people running around with no adversity with which to deal. I just believe some people tend to fight the beast better than others. I have noticed what to some, is an absolute incredible challenge, to another is just an inconvenience. One day last week I had to handle a couple of business issues that were indeed a pain in the lower extremities. I found myself incredibly annoyed and yes even quite irate after speaking with a couple of less than helpful “customer service” people. I finally had to ask myself if this problem was really worthy of the importance I had given it. The clear answer was a resounding no! I shortcut the problem and puffffff it was gone. After a few deep breaths I felt better and wondered why I had allowed myself to get so worked up. From time to time I long for the days when the build-up of male testosterone would be mitigated by wrestling a bad guy and slapping on the handcuffs. Yesterday as I stood at the end of a long pier and watched several sailboats in the horizon, the quote “smooth seas do not make skillful sailors” made a lot of sense. As we experience turbulent seas in our lives, we will only become “skillful sailors” if we learn from the rough waves. There is a saying that goes “adversity introduces a man to himself”. In other words “How does a person handle adversity? The next time you are “up to here” with another person or problem just step back a little and ask if the issue is worth all of the wasted adrenalin. There is a reason your mom told you to count to 10 when you got mad. I guess we really did learn everything we need in kindergarten. On a recent airplane flight a lady behind me mistakenly must have thought that everyone on the flight manifest wanted to hear her conversation. I had run off and left my noise cancelling headphones, so I was stuck with hearing her screeching rant. I thought I really needed to deal with this annoyance in a positive way so I opened my book and tried to block out the interference. It must have worked because a short time latter the flight attendant was at my side saying sir….sir….trying to get my attention. She was there to take my drink order. I felt pretty good because I was able to tune out the thing that had been bothering me and I did so in a positive way. I am trying not to allow someone else to determine my behavior. I have to admit that not too many years ago I would have sat there and been irritated the entire flight. The Roman philosopher Seneca said “Things that were hard to bear are sweet to remember.” Think back at some of the growing pains you experienced as you began your business. At the time they may have seemed quite burdensome but now you can laugh at them or at least acknowledge you were able to overcome them. As we advance in out business pursuits hopefully we handle adversity more easily. Ralph Waldo Emerson liked to say “That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do; not that the nature of the thing itself is changed, but that our powers to do is increased”. “Opposition is a natural part of life. Just as we develop our physical muscles through overcoming opposition – such as lifting weights – we all develop our character muscles by overcoming challenges and adversity.” – Stephen R. Covey – My suggestion for today is “lighten-up and enjoy the ride. Don’t make adversity your friend but do learn from the experience that adversity offers. It is the End of Summer Sale time again. In preparation for the 4th quarter flood of orders we need to tidy up our warehouse and make room for added inventory. So please zip on over to the specials page and grab some great bargains. You can see the specials here: http://www.sunburstbottle.com/specials/clearance. Until the next Message In A Bottle ...….. here’s to your success Dennis Gibson |
Message In A Bottle -
Handling Adversity