Character and Persistence Trump Adversity

"Comfort and prosperity have never enriched the world as much as adversity has"
--Billy Graham

Consider these:

• Sir Walter Raleigh, after getting in deep doo-doo with the queen, spent 13 years in prison. How did he spend his time? He wrote The History of the World.

• Beethoven composed his greatest music after he went deaf.

• The poet Dante worked--and died--in exile.

• Daniel DeFoe wrote Robinson Crusoe while in prison.

• Pilgrim's Progress was penned by John Bunyan during his imprisonment in Bedford Jail.

• He was too poor to buy paper so he used scraps of leather. That's how MIguel de Cervantes managed to produce Don Quixote while jailed in Madrid.

At times, we all feel as if we're being sentenced to something. So, we have a choice: Do we lament what is happening in our life or do we live the life we've been given?

The nature of our character and our legacy is built on that decision.

Comments

[Tanmay Vora]

Steve, Brilliantly written - I cannot agree more with the concluding statement.

Its not what happens to us that matters, its what we do we with happens to us that is important.

Great!

[Dan Erwin]

Terrifically important insight. Until very recently, although I was steeped in motivation theory, process and practice, I knew little about perseverance. Geoff Colvin, in his Talent Is Overrated, called it a black hole. Along came Daniel Coyle's the Talent Code, with some very useful stuff/research on perseverance. Perseverance grows out of primal cues, what Coyle calls ignition. Coyle's discussion of deliberate practice is superb.

It continues to amaze me that some research is so right-on that when you look at it, the resonation is monstrous. I could see myself in the research, but didn't really understand myself until I read the research. Gary McPherson and John Bargh are the key researchers. If you need more info, send me a note through my site.

The happy piece in Coyle is the info that the master coaches tend to be in their sixties and seventies. Since I'm mid-seventy, I had a real hoot with that data.

My review of Coyle is here:http://danerwin.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/07/secret-of-talent.html

[Steve Roesler]

Tanmay,

Thanks for weighing in with the affirmation...much appreciated.

[Steve Roesler]

Dan,

I'm sure our readers would gain valuable insight from the review and a follow-up look into the research.

The part about master coaches being in their 69s and 70s doesn't surprise me but may surprise others. For those who choose to become discerning and thoughtful about life's lessons age does, indeed, bring wisdom that exponentially enables the coaching/mentoring relationship.

These are resources I had not seen before. Thanks for putting them in the mix.

[Utpal Vaishnav]

Steve,

Brilliant post.

To live the life powerfully, we must learn to understand 'choice'. It is something beyond the law of cause and effect... and we always choose "the effect" by making specific choice.

Life is like a flowing river full of opportunitiee... It is upto us whether we stand with the bucket or a spoon!

We always have power of choice :)

Cheers!
Utpal

[Steve Roesler]

Hello, Uptal,

Well put. You have a million-dollar line here: "...we always choose "the effect" by making (a) specific choice."

That is a bonus for readers interested in this topic.

Thank you.