18 January 2010

Turning Obstacles into Opportunities

Napoleon Hill says in his seminal work Think and Grow Rich:

“When the opportunity comes, it appears in a different form and from a different direction. That is one of the tricks of opportunity. It has a sly habit of slipping in by the back door, and often comes disguised in the form of misfortune or temporary defeat. Perhaps this is why so many fail to recognize opportunity.

Before success comes to most people, they are sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and perhaps some failure. When faced with defeat the easiest and most logical thing to do id to quit. That is exactly what the majority of people do.”

When I first read those passages, I nearly fell off of my chair. As a woman in perpetual transition, I would often ask the proverbial question, “Why is this happening to me?” “Why does this always happen to me?”

Does any of this sound familiar?

Then, I read Hill’s words and took a great sigh of relief. Before reading this, I would hit the adversity, then just stop. Not recognizing that this temporary defeat was an opportunity in disguise.

Today, although I’m still not crazy about the adversities that I meet, I now recognize them as opportunities in disguise. There is a higher calling for these trials.

Just for today, STOP, TAKE A BREATH, and ASK:

“What are the lessons, the blessings, and the testings of this trial or misfortune?”
I urge you to make a habit of reading books like Think and Grow Rich; especially if you are needing new shifts in old paradigms.

Here's to your success!
Coach Carolyn

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