Brian Tracy explains how adversity builds character and reveals what you're made of. He argues that growth happens when challenges exceed your current strength, and that developing alternatives like savings or backup options gives you freedom to think clearly under pressure.
I want to talk to you today about how to achieve great success while dealing with adversity, one of the greatest and most important of all success skills. So here's a question for you. What are you made of? What are you really made of? And how will you achieve great success? When push comes to shove, when the rubber meets the road, as they say, when the chips are down, and when you clear your mind, what lies at the very core of your character? You learn what you're really made of only when things go wrong and you are tumbled end over end by some adversity or setback that hits you like a Mack truck coming out of an alley. Since your behaviors on the outside are the real indicators of who you are on the inside, only by observing how you behave when things go wrong can you tell what you really have inside of you and what your pillars of character consist of. Now, you couldn't possibly have become the person you are today if you had not had to contend with adversity on your way up. Perhaps your chief aim in life and in your definition of success is to develop a noble character, to become an excellent human being, to become everything that you are capable of becoming. Only by contending with challenges that seem to be beyond your strength to handle at the moment can you grow more surely toward the stars and build upon your pillars of character. In fact, it is your character that is the foundation of your personality. And every time you deal with adversity in an effective way, you strengthen your foundation. You become a stronger and better person. Now, one of the rules in facing adversity in life is that you are only as free as your well developed alternatives. You're only as free as the options you have. Only when you can switch and do something else can you be flexible in dealing with your current situation. If you've not developed an option or an alternative, you will become anxious and even panicky when you are threatened with a sudden loss or reversal in a particular area of your life. For example, if you have no money saved up, you have no options. If you have a financial reversal, you suddenly go into panic or desperation. But if you have saved up some money, and if you've thought through what might happen and you have carefully considered your alternatives, then you have more freedom. So to deal with adversity effectively, your ability to ask questions is essential. As long as you're asking questions, you are expanding the range of options and possibilities that are open to you. As long as you are asking questions, you are keeping your mind calm and cool and objective. You're not allowing yourself to get caught up emotionally, thereby shutting down large parts of your brain and your creative powers. So, in order to achieve great success and overcome adversity, you must clear your mind and discover your pillars of character. Remember, as the going gets rough, the strong becomes stronger. Thank you, and I'll talk to you again soon.
