LESSON: The pressure of leadership and continual achievement often causes us to reach a point at which we fear losing more than we enjoy winning. This is the point when great coaches suddenly retire or exit the game without warning. We cannot find enjoyment and we’ve forgotten why we started this journey in the first place. We understand we must regain our passion, and this becomes a full-time mission when attempting to fully overcome extreme adversity.
The below lesson is an excerpt from my recently released Amazon #1 Best Seller, When Not If: A CEO's Guide to Overcoming Adversity, Forbes Books, 2024.
Fear and exhaustion take great tolls on our bodies and brains when tackling great adversity. But as you’ve learned in these true-life blogs, daily perseverance can give us just enough energy to keep going in the positive direction. Remember, it will take 10X longer than we think, or believe is fair, but eventually we can make it out the other end of the tunnel.
I’m now out the other end of my horrific journey with still a long way to go to rebuild and restore for myself and so many others. But the miracles I have now were unimaginable 10 years ago.
My friends always ask me how I snagged such a beautiful woman as Ashleigh. My standard answer is, “I can’t explain it. The universe works in mysterious ways, so I’m just going with it!”
This encapsulates my philosophy for the next chapter of my life. Maybe it’s my last chapter, and maybe—God only knows—it’s the first chapter of a new book whose ending is anyone’s guess. I now, finally, understand the meaning of the Old Yiddish proverb Mann Tracht, Un Gott Lacht. Man Plans, and God Laughs.
All I can do these days is to wake up early every morning, give it a hellacious effort of positivity and strength, and see what results occur. There is a startling freedom in believing we don’t really control the outcomes.
One of my many commitments under this restoration project is to help all those who also lost due to my mistakes and failing to keep my eyes on the prize. I am committed to doing so because it is the right thing to do. I feel terrible that a lot of innocent people who put their faith in me also lost.
I am focused on attacking every day thinking in abundance, not scarcity. I recently moved our extended family into our urban neighborhood, which I call the bubble, and we have all reestablished bonds and made new strong relationships. I am enjoying my miraculous family, my incredible business opportunities, and the gift of being able to help so many others prevent and overcome their own challenges. The work is more rewarding than I ever could have imagined.
Don’t let fear hold you back from mending a relationship, starting a new business, or reaching for a goal everyone thinks is impossible. I have recently done all three, and we are just getting started, again!
Have a great week!
Order Amazon #1 Best Seller When Not If (Hardback, Kindle, Audio): https://www.amazon.com/When-Not-If-Overcoming-Adversity/dp/B0CKWTYSFF/r and on Audible https://www.audible.com/pd/B0D2LQ6QNC and Chirp When Not If by John Kador & Jeff Martinovich - Audiobook (chirpbooks.com).
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