A choice- crisis as opportunity
There was a time in my life when many people around me didn’t think I had the necessary knowledge and ability to be a successful salesman. In fact, at one point, a corporate vice president wrote to my sales manager suggesting that I be terminated. My self-worth was battered. But I had a choice to make — success or failure, using my crisis as an opportunity. Fortunately, my sales manager believed in me and put his energy into building my confidence. I chose to succeed, followed his advice, and rose through the ranks. The complaining VP wrote a letter to the sales manager apologizing for his earlier criticism and praising my work. I still have a copy of that letter 50 years later!
Opportunity cloaked in crisis
Everyone responds to crisis in their own way. In The Go-Givers Sell More, authors Bob Burg and John Mann discuss the different ways people react to a crisis of confidence. They state: “For some, such an experience can lead to growth, wisdom, and great depth, while it leads others to become hardened and embittered.”
Importantly, Burg and Mann believe crisis offers hidden opportunity. They write: “Crises in life are the greatest gifts that come to you from unexpected places and they rarely arrive neatly wrapped and clearly marked, like lottery winnings in the mailbox or a new car in the driveway.” The secret to success is to find the gift and open the opportunity.
Get busy living
How do you dig your way out of a crisis? Andy Dufresne says in The Shawshank Redemption, “I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living, or get busy dying.” As an example, Og Mandino, author of The Greatest Salesman in the World once contemplated suicide. He attributes his success as a best-selling writer today to his recovery from that crisis and those that helped him along the way.
The path to success
We will all face problems in our lives that require the support of others and belief in self. Viewing a crisis as an opportunity to improve your personal situation opens up choices that can lead you away from failure and toward success.
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