President,
Turbo Leadership
Systems©
A secret of success ~ get back up.
Kelly told our Leadership Development LAB,
"It was the first of September, 1978, and I was on top of the world. I had married my high school sweetheart on July 7th (60 days earlier), I had a good job, and I was making good money. On a Sunday near the end of September, my wife left me. On Tuesday of the same week, I came home from work and found the house completely cleaned out - not a stitch of furniture to be found.
"Approximately 3 weeks later, the company I was working for went on strike. The friends I worked with (3 of the guys - half of the crew) decided to strike, and three others crossed the picket line. They all started shouting at each other.
"I hit the street, got another job, looked into school, signed up and went after an education - a 2-year degree in electronics. With my 2-year degree, I was able to get a good job with a company that was willing to help me by paying for my continued education."
As I listened to Kelly's story of bouncing back, of literally rebounding from despair, I saw clearly that what happens to us in life doesn't determine the quality of our lives. The quality of our lives is determined by how we respond to these perceived negative events. Kelly had all the excuses he needed to lie down and quit. But, instead, he drew on his grit.
And death looks you bang in the eye,
And you're sore as a boil, it's according to Hoyle To cock your revolver and . . . die.
But the code of a man says, "Fight on if you can,"
And self-dissolution is barred.
In hunger and woe, oh, it's easy to blow . . .
It's the hell-served-for-breakfast that's hard.
You're sick of the game! "Well, now, that's a shame."
You're young and you're brave and you're bright.
"You've had a raw deal!" I know - but don't squeal.
Buck up, do your damndest, and fight.
It's the plugging away that will win you the day.
So don't be a piker, old pard!
It's the keeping-your-chin-up that's hard.
It's easy to cry that you're beaten - and die.
It's easy to crawfish and crawl;
But to fight and to fight when hope's out of sight,
Why, that's the best game of them all!
And though you come out of each grueling bout
All broken and beaten and scarred,
Just have one more try - it's dead easy to die,
It's the keeping-on-living that's hard.
Empowered leaders don't quit, they accept the responsibility for the final outcomes of the events in their lives. They look for ways to overcome problems, not for "good" excuses for failure.
If I have learned anything from the thousands of leaders I have trained in the LDL, it is that we all experience "clipping," setbacks. We are all knocked to our knees from time to time. The difference between the winners and the "also rans" is that the winners, when knocked to their knees, climb back to their feet and press on.
A N N O U N C I N G
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