By: Dave Cole
Napoleon Hill wrote, "In every adversity, there
is the seed of an equal or greater benefit".
Doesn't it just seem that the more you try to get
things accomplished, the more problems and
obstacles that somehow, just crop up and are
required to be dealt with along the way?
Becoming a success doesn't just happen.
Everything seems to be going along pretty well,
when all of a sudden....up comes this major
roadblock.... seemingly, out of nowhere to try
and trip you up.
Unfortunately these hindrances just don't come to
us complete with big signs that would explain why
they are there, and further more, just what steps
we need to overcome these unwanted obstacles.
Evan Hunter, a now world famous Novelist, had a dream.
Mr. Hunter was a radar man aboard a Destroyer in
the US Navy. He had a lot of free time after his
watch was over and decided that he was going to start
on his road to fulfilling his dreams.
He began to write mystery stories and sent them
to magazines hoping they would get published. Every
one he sent, was returned as being rejected. In fact,
it got so bad, that his shipmates ran pools
betting on when his next manuscript would be returned.
Mr, Hunter, who is now 74, said, "I never got
discouraged though".
All the rejection notices: only fueled even further
his desire to become a famous writer.
After the Navy, he earned a degree in English. Then,
found a job that would help him get experience in
achieving his goal.
He kept on writing, kept on getting rejection notices,
but finally...sold 1 manuscript.
The sale netted him $12.60, before taxes!
All those years of writing, getting an education,
and countless rejection notices had earned him less
that 12 dollars for his efforts.
Just think about all he had gone through, all the
work he had done, and how that skinny little check
must have made him feel.
Would you have gotten discouraged by this time?
But, Evan Hunter is a man who believes that optimism
is the only way to go! He looked at that adversity,
recognized it for what it was, then found that seed
of an equal or greater benefit!
He began to take a very hard look at his technique.
Instead of writing the standard fiction, Mr. Hunter
decided to draw on his own personal life experiences
and began to write what he knew about.
"The Blackboard Jungle", published in 1954, became
an immediate success. Then it wasn't very long before
he was getting 2 to 3 books a year published and had
achieved world class fame.
Here's a man who overcame a lot of adversity trying
to achieve his life's dream. He welcomes challenges.
He believes that it forces him to stretch his efforts
and further forces him to streamline his work efforts.
Always Remember This:
It's NEVER what happens TO YOU that really matters.
What is so much more important is,
HOW YOU REACT....
to those events and obstacles in your path.
Have you got a stumbling block on your road to
success today?
If so, that's good! Look for that seed of an equal
or greater benefit.
It's always there, you just have to find it.
The path to your success may not be easy. In fact,
it will most likely be littered with debris, detours,
and a myriad of challenges.
How you react to those challenges is everything!
Learn to recognize adversity for what it really is.
A challenge in disguise, sent to spur you on to greater
and greater heights and future accomplishments.
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Do you ever find that your level of self confidence tends to go up and down like the stock market? Or perhaps it even
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perspective.
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