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The 4 Advantages to Adversity from John C. Maxwell’s Leading in Tough Times

As human beings, we seem to believe that life is supposed to be easy. This is particularly a problem in America today. We expect a smooth and easy road to success. We expect our lives to be hassle free. We expect the government to solve our problems. We expect to get the prize without having to pay the price. That is not reality! Life is hard.

In Life’s Greatest Lessons, Hal Urban writes,”Once we accept the fact that life is hard, we begin to grow. We begin to understand that every problem is also an opportunity. It is then that we dig down and discover what we’re made of. We
begin to accept the challenges of life. Instead of letting our hardships defeat us, we welcome them as a test of character. We use them as a means of rising to the occasion.”

This reality is especially important for leaders to recognize and embrace. Nothing worth having in life comes without effort. That is why psychiatrist M. Scott Peck begins his book The Road Less Traveled with the words “Life is difficult.” If we don’t understand and accept the truth that life is difficult, that leadership is difficult, then we set ourselves up for failure and we won’t learn or succeed.

As leaders, even if we are willing to concede that life is difficult for most people, deep down inside many of us secretly hope somehow that this truth won’t apply to us. But no one escapes life’s problems, failures, and challenges. If we are to make progress, we must do so through life’s difficulties. Or as poet Ralph Waldo Emerson stated it, “The walking of Man is falling forwards.”

Here are four advantages of adversity:

  1. Adversity Introduces Us to Ourselves: Adversity creates an opportunity for self- discovery.
  2. Adversity Is a Better Teacher Than Success: Oprah Winfrey advises, “Turn your wounds into wisdom.”
  3. Adversity Opens Doors for New Opportunities: A mistake simply shows you something you didn’t know. Once you make the mistake, then you know it.
  4. Adversity Writes Our Story If Our Response Is Right: If you see a failure as an opportunity to learn and get better, it will be.

What kind of story will tough times write in your life? Every leader gets a chance to be the hero in a potentially great story. Some step up to that role and some don’t. The choice is yours.

John C. Maxwell

About the Author

John C. Maxwell is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, coach, and speaker who has sold more than 24 million books in fifty languages. Often called America’s #1 leadership authority, Maxwell was identified as the most popular leadership expert in the world by Inc. magazine in 2014, and he has been voted the top leadership professional six years in a row on LeadershipGurus.net. He is the founder of The John Maxwell Company, The John Maxwell Team, and EQUIP, a non-profit organization that has trained more than 5 million leaders in 180 countries. Each year Maxwell speaks to Fortune 500 companies, presidents of nations, and many of the world’s top business leaders.

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