Whether you're an Olympic athlete or a business owner, overcoming adversity is critical to success. Watching the Olympics these last weeks reminds me that we all stumble, fall and struggle to deal with forces beyond our control that interrupt our plans. When that happens we have two choices: Curl up and give up or get up and fight back!Olympians, like business owners, are all about taking risks. Watching the downhill ski racers, I was struck by their statements that they just had to go for it and not hold back. They tore up the course without fear of falling or failing. This was their moment " the moment they had trained for their entire lives. They were fearless.
I know many business owners who are successful because they possess the same attitude. They worked hard to establish their businesses. They trained, planned and prepared. Once the doors were open, they gave it everything they got and never gave up even when the course got rough " even when they fell. They got back up.
I was recently chatting with a business owner who had been injured in an accident. He told me that as he was being rushed to the hospital he was more concerned about how he was going to run his business than about his injury. As soon as he was able, he returned to work " on crutches. It was not "business as usual," as he was physically incapable of working the way he had prior to the injury. But he had his best month " ever. He said, "My injury forced me to conduct my business in a different way than I had before and the new way turned out to be better than the old way." I won't give away his secret, but I will tell you that even after he healed he continued to operate his business the way he did when he was injured.
So when you take a fall, when you are faced with circumstances that are not what you had hoped for, when things don't go your way, look at it as an opportunity to get stronger, to be smarter to heal. Then get back up and head down that hill with everything you've got and you'll come out a winner!
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