Obstacles are the stepping-stones of success

A man was walking in the park one day when he came upon a cocoon with a small opening. He sat and watched the butterfly as it struggled to force its body through the little hole for several hours. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It looked like it had gotten as far as it could, so the man decided to help the butterfly. He used his pocketknife and snipped the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged easily, but something was strange. The butterfly had a swollen body and shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected at any moment the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened. The butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and deformed wings. It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to emerge was natural. It was nature's way of forcing fluid from its body into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives.

If we were allowed to go through life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. And we could never fly.

History has shown us that the most celebrated winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.

Look at any current successful business, you only see or hear their success. You may never hear of their struggles when they started. How one of the world's most well-known brands were denied a startup of $10,000 loan – at 47 different banks. Or, a Dow 30 company’s founder went bankrupt multiple times and had multiple failing businesses before he “got it right.”

Anyone you know that is crushing it within their business now, has overcome adversity multiple times. 

Beethoven composed his greatest works after becoming deaf. George Washington was snowed in through a treacherous winter at Valley Forge. Abraham Lincoln was raised in poverty. Albert Einstein was called a slow learner, retarded, and uneducable. If Christopher Columbus had turned back, no one could have blamed him, considering the constant adversity he endured.

As an elementary student, actor James Earl Jones (a.k.a. Darth Vader) stuttered so badly he communicated with friends and teachers using written notes.

We could go on with numerous examples of many famous people throughout global history that has overcome obstacles-adversary to accomplish something miraculous.

Who do you know of or have met that has overcome these obstacles and are successful?

We all know someone that has. What obstacles or challenges are you facing in your business? The key is overcoming them.

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Steve Feld, MBA, Certified Business Coach, Author, provides training and business performance coaching to business owners, professionals, and executives. Steve also speaks to organizations, conducts workshops, and training. Focusing on lead generation and revenue creation to get growth results for the business.

Contact Biz Coach Steve today to see how he can assist you to get the results you want in your business, [email protected], or www.bizcoachsteve.com. He is in the business of growing businesses. Need a speaker, contact Steve today.

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