Adversity

Here is a great quote from one of my all-time favorite authors, Og Mandino:

"Search for the seed of good in every adversity. Master that principle and you will own a precious shield that will guard you well through all the darkest valleys you must traverse. Stars may be seen from the bottom of a deep well, when they cannot be discerned from the mountaintop. So will you learn things from adversity that you would never have discovered without trouble. There is always a seed of good. Find it and prosper."

Let's face it: we all want a trouble-free life. We want money to pour in. We want to have perfect health. We want everyone to like us. Shucks, we even want (like every beauty contestant says) world peace and the end to world hunger. Well, these are great things to desire.

Unfortunately, that is not reality.

So, where does that leave you? You - and the rest of us - live in a world that is fallen. It is full of war, disease and poverty. Sometimes that poverty is in our own neighborhood. Sometimes it is in our own home. Here is what I say about that last item:

Good.

"What? You are glad, Scott, that poverty is in my own home currently?" Yes, and I will tell you why.

There are many adversities that you will face in life, but if I had to wish one for you, it would be a lack of money. Why? Because YOU CAN FIX THAT! You many times cannot fix a terminal disease. You many times cannot fix a broken marriage. You cannot bring back to life a loved one who has died.

But you can fix a financial adversity.

Not only can you fix it, but you will become stronger through the adversity. You will stretch outside your comfort zone (which is how you grow) to become a better, bolder, more confident version of yourself. People will become attracted to you. They will want to join you in your quest for success. You will attract to you like-minded people, who will become people who, like you, are solution-oriented people.

But none of this will happen to you until - like Og said - you "search for the seed of good in every adversity." Are you searching? Have you found it? If so, good. If not, keep searching. Don't quit until you find it. I have never been in an adversity - no matter how painful - where there was not a Seed of Good to be found.

Not in the death of my Dad.

Not in the death of my first marriage.

Not in the death of my Mom.

Not in the death of our son.

Go forth and search. You will find the Seed of Good if you seek diligently and relentlessly.

You can do it. I believe in you!