Crisis And Opportunity: Opposite Sides Of The Same Coin

Crisis And Opportunity: Opposite Sides Of The Same Coin

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Like many of you, I usually spend a lot of time at the end of the year
reflecting on the past twelve months. Lately, it appears that I am doing this
with more frequency as the days seem to be flying by faster than ever.
During this holiday season, my mind wandered back to my old Sunday
school days, to the Parable of the Talents. In this Parable, Jesus told the
story of three servants who received different amount of talents, or ancient
coins, from their Master. Now, the first two servants managed to invest
their talents wisely, while the third just buried the one talent he was given.
Upon his return, the Master complimented the first two who returned to
him a profit, while he upbraided the third, who took the conservative
route; and although he returned to the Master the one talent he was
originally given, it was not as impressive a return as the first two.
Now, for those who are not familiar with Biblical history, a talent was once
a unit of currency. The parable, on the surface, was about money.
However, the term evolved, so that 'talent' came to mean something more
over the centuries, not just money, but a thing of value, some special ability
that all of us have or want or can develop.
Unfortunately, after reading the newspapers these last few months, we all
know too well what was probably going on in this third fellows head. He
may have had the tools he needed to make a profitable investment just like
the other two, but declined to do so. He just wanted to make sure he did
not lose the talent. Maybe this fellow's life was like that of many of us in
today's economic climate, gripped by fear and anxiety and uncertainty, and
trying to just not lose, as opposed to trying to make a profit.
However, my attitude is that now is the time to wisely look at opportunities
that may not come around again in our lifetime. Now is the time to ask
ourselves, what can I do right now, what would I do right now if I were not
so frightened?
Perhaps the third servant had people in his life who kept telling him what
he was and was not capable of. Quite possibly the economic conditions
back then were abysmal too, and he got so caught up in surviving from day
to day that he lost his long-term vision and therefore could not see the
possibilities just beyond the horizon. The prospects for him were good but
he failed to step outside of his circumstances and find the strength within
himself to come up with a strategy that would create the success he was
capable of. Truly sad, no matter the reasoning.
Do you know what is just as sad? The fact that many of us today are living
our lives just as he did, not being able to see the opportunity in the midst of
mind-boggling news. Like him, many of us are unwisely and incorrectly
comparing ourselves to others. We are given different stating positions in
life. We all have different abilities but what is important isnt what we were
given it is what we do with it that matters. In the parable, one servant
earned five talents and the other two but they were equally congratulated
because they both realized a 100% return on their investments.
In recent months we have seen world markets gone into recession. Trillions
of dollars have simply dissipated from the stock market. Millions of homes
have gone into foreclosure and millions of people have lost their jobs.
Many wake up everyday with the same pressing questions in their minds -
will I be able to retire as planned? Will I be able to send my children to
college? Will I be able to find another job or how am I going to pay my
monthly bills? Needless to say, the financial crisis is not the only crisis that
people are facing and unsure of how to handle. People are facing serious
health challenges. They are dealing with relationship problems and
emotional issues. What do you do when you or a love one is diagnosed with
terminal illness, or a long term relationship ends? These events can
certainly make your life feel like it is spinning out of control but while we
may not have any control over what is happening to us, we certainly can
control how we respond to these events.
I believe that the profitless fellow in the parable probably felt overwhelmed
too, but instead of searching inside himself for the answers he chose to
bury his talent (and the metaphor is wonderful and true) - the one key he
had to open the door to a brighter tomorrow. Any lifeguard will tell you
that you have to be willing to participate in your own rescue. When you
find yourself in these trying circumstances, you have to be willing to look
inside of yourself to find the answers. You have to know that we have
within us the ability to find the strength and strategy to deal with these
situations while they are going on.
Experiencing these crises is like going through a furnace. It melts down
everything and gives us an opportunity to recast ourselves into something
better and stronger. Look back at the worst problems you have faced in
your life. If you overcame them and were able to extract an empowering
meaning from the experience, then you would have been stronger for the
experience. Oftentimes our worst problems have sculpted our souls.
Tony Robbins has suggested these five steps to help you turn your crises
into opportunities:
Turn it to your advantage
All the loss you experience in the external world cannot take away what
you ultimately wanted in your internal world. What you really wanted from
the better job, increased income more fulfilling relationship and so on was
to be in charge of your life. Deep down you are looking for a sense of
meaning and certainty as well and a way to contribute to something
beyond yourself. These needs can still be met if you seek to find a richer
meaning in your life even in times of trouble. Draw a line in the sand and
refuse to let your external environment hold you hostage. One of the
meanings of the Latin root of the word decision is to cut off from. When
human beings cut off any possibility except this is how it is going to be
and they make it an absolute must, they find a way to turn things around.
All of us at some point in our lives have found ourselves in a crisis or
overwhelming situations and in one magical moment we finally said
ENOUGH!this is changing----and it does.
Click here to tell us how you were able to turn a personal crisis to your
advantage
Get resourceful
How do you get to that magical moment of making the decision to change
things in your life? You do that by getting resourceful. That means facing
your fears!
Over the last few months, everyone, from billionaires to barbers, from
executive officers to executive chefs have been living with fear and terror,
even facing heavy financial losses as the market found itself locked onto a
roller coaster ride. However, nothing can take your future from you if you
decide and get resourceful enough to figure out how you can take
advantage of crisis in your life. Fear, terror, anger, uncertainty, even
overwhelm are all calls to action. They are telling us that things are not
good enough and we must do something about it. People get defeated
when they refuse to answer the call and allow themselves to get too caught
up in these emotions. Here are two quick ways to get resourceful:
Get physical.
Fear, faith, courage, strength and a sense of empowerment are all physical.
So go on an intense work out. Whether it is running, walking, swimming,
lifting weights, etc, do something where you physically engage your body
and strength is demanded. Once you get the blood pulsating through your
body you will feel alive again and in that state of mind you will not feel
defeated. Instead you will suddenly feel resourceful and feel like you can
make things happen.
Feed your mind something that will strengthen it.
Read autobiographies and listen to motivational tapes. Step in the mind
and soul of another human being who is writing about what they felt,
thought and experienced as they overcame unbelievable challenges. When
you read an authors words, you begin to think like them. As you think, so
you become, so you attract, so you experience.
Create a vision
Get clear about what you want. Most people have no idea what they want
but are very clear about what they dont want, and as a result they end up
with a life they abhor. If you are in a crisis and are unsure of what you want,
start describing in detail everything you dont want. Describe your job from
hell, the people you dont want to be around, the activities you dont want
to engage in, the relationship you dont want to be involved in. When you
are finished write the exact opposite of that, and you would have created a
new vision for your life.
Heres another strategy you can use: take the pain you already have and
redirect it. Turn the energy inwards to something that makes you stronger,
more focused, more directed. This will give you a vision of something that is
more compelling. Anyone can deal with a tough today if they have a
compelling vision of tomorrow.
Follow a proven plan
Crisis is not new. Crisis with your kids or drugs, financial, emotional or
physical crises are all part of the human experience. There is a way through
all of thema pathway to power as Tony calls it. Whatever the crisis you
are facing, somebody else has faced something similar. Success leaves
clues. If they are able to consistently succeed in overcoming their
challenges--- they are not lucky. They are doing something right and your
job is to model them.
Take massive action
All of the forgoing is useless without action. In order to seize the
opportunities that are on the other side of your crisis you must take
massive action. Be aware that the first action you take might not be
successful so you must be willing to keep changing your approach until you
realize your vision. When a human being just will not give up---when they
are willing to keep going and keep changing their strategy, they eventually
find a way.
Keep on Pushing!
Copyright (C) 2006 Devon Harris.
All rights reserved worldwide.
www.devonharris.com
The contents of this E-zine may be copied, reproduced, or freely distributed
for all nonprofit purposes without the consent of the author as long as the
author's name, copyright notice and contact information are included

About the Author:
Three-time Jamaican Bobsled Team Olympian Devon Harris' message to "keep on pushing" inspires the rejected salesperson to rediscover his or her mojo, the stumped engineer to find a better solution, the overloaded executive to see a new path forward. Devon's real life story of perseverance and persistence combined with his powerful presence and persuasive ideas have positively impacted thousands at Fortune 100 companies, non-profits, governmental organizations, schools, and universities. He is the author of the motivational childrens book Yes, I Can! and the semi-autobiographical motivational book, Keep On Pushing: Hot Lessons From Cool Runnings.



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