“Sooner or later comes a

crisis in our affairs,

and how we meet it

determines our future

happiness and success.

Since the beginning of time,

every form of life has been

called upon to meet such

crisis.”

–Robert Collier

Upon hearing the word crisis, a negative connotation immediately is attached in the mind. Whether it be something minor such as a fender bender, an overflowing toilet or something with the capacity to change life as you know it – an unexpected death, a crash, etc, crisis is not something a person necessarily prepares for. Yes, you most likely have insurance, but no one ever truly hopes they have to use it.  With just reason, crisis has earned the negative label that humans automatically attach to it; however, today, I’d like to challenge your way of thinking.

Let’s begin with an interesting bit of information shared by an respected orator, JFK. “When written in Chinese, the word “crisis” is composed of two characters-one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.”  The choice is within you as to how you approach a crisis when it presents itself to you.  You can choose to pout, recede and freeze up, allowing others to determine how you will come out of the unexpected situation, or you can take charge whether by what you say, or by what you do and have some say in how things are going to go forward.

After all, your true self is who you are in crisis. So what type of person are you? Are you a go-getter, someone who takes charge and determines their own destiny, or do you allow life to lead you by the nose?  The answer will be spotlighted immediately when you aren’t expecting it. So why not become that person you want to be now?

Going back to the mention of opportunity being found in crisis. Think about this for a second. During the Great Depression, as one would imagine, luxury products all but ceased being consumed which meant that an evening at the movies declined as an option, thereby, causing the movie industry to suffer tremendously.  So what did they do? Creativity sprung up and double features soon became the event to go to because it was quite the deal. Giveaways and theme nights became common place as well in the theaters to bring their audience back, and Hollywood successfully rebounded and then some. The same held true for Martin guitars. Instead of changing though, they stayed true to their mission of high quality and selling to local dealers.  Therein lies the seizing of an opportunity. They focused on continually improving their product so that their customers would not be disappointed and now Martin is the brand most highly coveted by musicians.

Maxwell Maltz states it very matter-of-factly, “Close scrutiny will show that most ‘crisis situations’ are opportunities to either advance, or stay where you are.”

Think about it this way for a second. There really isn’t such a thing as luck, but rather a continual preparation of yourself for  opportunity, so that when it arrives you will be able to not only recognize it but take advantage of it even if it comes disguised as a crisis.

Are you preparing?

I wish you a very successful start to the last full week in August and remember, it all comes down to perspective.  Choose to see the opportunity and seize it.