What It Takes to Make Your Own Success in Time of Crisis

What makes a person successful? This is probably one of the most asked questions, and fortunately, “success leaves clues.”  I recently sat down with Jack Canfield, co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, author of The Success Principles and all-around life changer. Frankly, there’s no better person to share powerful success clues than Jack. We both agreed that in today’s environment, success is probably best measured by our ability to bounce back from adversity--in other words “resilience”. 

In reflecting on our conversation, I offer these “success clues” for thriving in adversity.

Mine for Wisdom

In times of crisis, there is so much opportunity and learning. Oftentimes, however, those lessons are hiding in the challenges. There is always a creative opportunity in every challenge, and it’s up to you to mine for the wisdom (or the ‘little gems’ as my grandma would call them) and find the key lessons in that experience. A very important clue to success and overcoming adversity is whether or not you’re willing to mine for wisdom and find opportunity in challenge.  

Recognize the Importance of Pivoting

Thriving in adversity requires a certain level of agility - or “pivot-ability” as I call it. Said another way, it’s your ability to move effectively through obstacles. Although this can feel challenging, it’s important to know that you are 100% capable of BEing the eye of the storm and using these moments to build your resilience. If we all did the things that we already know are important to do, what I refer to as “unradical pivots” (like eating a better diet, meditating, and so on) success would be inevitable. When we are more mentally, emotionally and spiritually stable, adversity becomes a tool we use to grow. 

“It’s not about knowing. It’s about doing. My mentor, W. Clement Stone always said, “First, you have to assimilate it, then you have to apply it and then you have to persist in applying it.” It has to become a habit. It has to become something that’s almost unconscious. I don’t have to think about brushing my teeth twice a day, in the morning and before I go to bed. It’s something I do.” - Jack Canfield 

Focus on High Frequency Emotions 

Canfield talked candidly about how his father was very suspicious and resentful of anyone with wealth, and how he felt that drove his father's own lack of wealth. He pointed out that anytime you resent somebody for something, you’ll resent yourself if you achieve the same thing. In the process of rejecting that person, you’re rejecting parts of yourself. A major success clue is offering unconditional love to everyone you encounter. High frequency emotions (like respect, appreciation, love) will garner more of that, while low frequency emotions (like resentment) will breed failure. Anything that we are resentful of, we are effectively negating, which makes it that much more difficult to attain.

Speaking to the Heart of the Matter

Integrating the heart and the head is incredibly important. Regardless of whether you’re the CEO of a huge company or you’re somebody that lost your job, in times of adversity, we all tend to come from our emotional place. This is a good thing. This integration leads to wisdom and the ability to be successful in a lot of ways that most people never achieve. It is incredibly difficult to sustain any amount of success, if you are only operating from a place of one or the other. As Canfield says, “At the end of this, we will see a new normal and the opportunity to impact more lives, in a positive way and across an even greater geography with less risk, will stick around.”

Experience Is Valuable

Both success and overcoming adversity require us to consistently challenge the status quo and take risks. Self-confidence is the result of surviving a risk - and success is often the result of having the confidence to go after and achieve goals. Keep in mind that fear of challenge and uncertainty are oftentimes based on perceptions that aren’t real. As Canfield puts it, “You only learn the lessons by experiencing them. You don’t build resilience by not having things to be resilient about, and you don’t develop courage with having to act courageously to survive.” 

So here we are, in the midst of a global pandemic, and I’m asking you to lean into this challenge. I’m asking you to go at it with your head and your heart. And most importantly, I’m asking you to lead the way for others by being a shining example through your own success, even in times of crisis.