Obstacles Are The Stepping Stones of Success!

[24KT]

.

"Obstacles are the Stepping Stones
of Success!"

A man was walking in the park one day when he came upon a cocoon with a small opening. He sat and watched a butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through the little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It looked like it had gotten as far as it could, so the man decided to help the butterfly. He used his pocketknife and snipped the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged easily, but something was strange. The butterfly had a swollen body and shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected at any moment the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and deformed wings. It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to emerge was natural. It was nature's way of forcing fluid from its body into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives.

If we were allowed to go through life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. We would not be as strong as we could have been. And we could never fly.

History has shown us that the most celebrated winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.

My good friend, Lou Holtz, football coach of the University of South Carolina, once told me, "Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I'll show you someone who has overcome adversity."

Beethoven composed his greatest works after becoming deaf. George Washington was snowed in through a treacherous winter at Valley Forge. Abraham Lincoln was raised in poverty. Albert Einstein was called a slow learner, retarded and uneducable. If Christopher Columbus had turned back, no one could have blamed him, considering the constant adversity he endured.

As an elementary student, actor James Earl Jones (a.k.a. Darth Vader) stuttered so badly he communicated with friends and teachers using written notes.

Itzhak Perlman, the incomparable concert violinist, was born to parents who survived a Nazi concentration camp and has been paralyzed from the waist down since the age of four.

Chester Carlson, a young inventor, took his idea to 20 big corporations in the 1940s. After seven years of rejections, he was able to persuade Haloid, a small company in Rochester, N.Y., to purchase the rights to his electrostatic paper copying process. Haloid has since become Xerox Corporation.

Thomas Edison tried over 2,000 experiments before he was able to get his light bulb to work. Upon being asked how he felt about failing so many times, he replied, "I never failed once. I invented the light bulb. It just happened to be a 2,000-step process."

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, elected President of the United States for four terms, had been stricken with polio at the age of 39.

Persistence paid off for General Douglas MacArthur. After applying for admission to West Point twice, he applied a third time and was accepted. The rest is history.

In 1927, the head instructor of the John Murray Anderson Drama School instructed student Lucille Ball to "Try any other profession. Any other."

Buddy Holly was fired from the Decca record label in 1956 by Paul Cohen, Nashville "Artists and Repertoire Man." Cohen called Holly "the biggest no-talent I ever worked with."

Academy Award-winning writer, producer and director Woody Allen failed motion picture production at New York University (NYU) and City College of New York. He also flunked English at NYU.

Helen Keller, the famous blind author and speaker, said: "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved. Silver is purified in fire and so are we. It is in the most trying times that our real character is shaped and revealed."

Mackay's Moral: There is no education like the university of adversity!

               This article is by Harvey Mackay, an internationally recognized speaker and author.
                      Find out more about Harvey Mackay at http://www.harveymackay.com

Hope That Helps, 

For other useful tips for homebusiness entrepreneurs, visit: www.jaguarenterprises.net and indicate your area(s) of interest

[Debussey]

.

"Obstacles are the Stepping Stones
of Success!"

A man was walking in the park one day when he came upon a cocoon with a small opening. He sat and watched a butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through the little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It looked like it had gotten as far as it could, so the man decided to help the butterfly. He used his pocketknife and snipped the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged easily, but something was strange. The butterfly had a swollen body and shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected at any moment the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and deformed wings. It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to emerge was natural. It was nature's way of forcing fluid from its body into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives.

If we were allowed to go through life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. We would not be as strong as we could have been. And we could never fly.

History has shown us that the most celebrated winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.

My good friend, Lou Holtz, football coach of the University of South Carolina, once told me, "Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I'll show you someone who has overcome adversity."

Beethoven composed his greatest works after becoming deaf. George Washington was snowed in through a treacherous winter at Valley Forge. Abraham Lincoln was raised in poverty. Albert Einstein was called a slow learner, retarded and uneducable. If Christopher Columbus had turned back, no one could have blamed him, considering the constant adversity he endured.

As an elementary student, actor James Earl Jones (a.k.a. Darth Vader) stuttered so badly he communicated with friends and teachers using written notes.

Itzhak Perlman, the incomparable concert violinist, was born to parents who survived a Nazi concentration camp and has been paralyzed from the waist down since the age of four.

Chester Carlson, a young inventor, took his idea to 20 big corporations in the 1940s. After seven years of rejections, he was able to persuade Haloid, a small company in Rochester, N.Y., to purchase the rights to his electrostatic paper copying process. Haloid has since become Xerox Corporation.

Thomas Edison tried over 2,000 experiments before he was able to get his light bulb to work. Upon being asked how he felt about failing so many times, he replied, "I never failed once. I invented the light bulb. It just happened to be a 2,000-step process."

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, elected President of the United States for four terms, had been stricken with polio at the age of 39.

Persistence paid off for General Douglas MacArthur. After applying for admission to West Point twice, he applied a third time and was accepted. The rest is history.

In 1927, the head instructor of the John Murray Anderson Drama School instructed student Lucille Ball to "Try any other profession. Any other."

Buddy Holly was fired from the Decca record label in 1956 by Paul Cohen, Nashville "Artists and Repertoire Man." Cohen called Holly "the biggest no-talent I ever worked with."

Academy Award-winning writer, producer and director Woody Allen failed motion picture production at New York University (NYU) and City College of New York. He also flunked English at NYU.

Helen Keller, the famous blind author and speaker, said: "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved. Silver is purified in fire and so are we. It is in the most trying times that our real character is shaped and revealed."

Mackay's Moral: There is no education like the university of adversity!

               This article is by Harvey Mackay, an internationally recognized speaker and author.
                      Find out more about Harvey Mackay at http://www.harveymackay.com

Hope That Helps, 

For other useful tips for homebusiness entrepreneurs, visit: www.jaguarenterprises.net and indicate your area(s) of interest

You might be funny and uneducated.. 

But you are spot on with this one "Mackay's Moral: There is no education like the university of adversity!"

[Deedee]

It's probably also important to note that people who succeed are motivated by the fact that they simply don't give a sh*t what other people think and doggedly pursue their often creative vision because they just know inside that they are "right." Woody Allen didn't flunk out of English because he was deficient in that area. He was bored and didn't care and had his own creative ideas he preferred to pursue. Albert Einstein actually excelled in elementary school. He too was just bored with the teaching methods he encountered while pursuing his higher education and finegeled his way out of them. These are some fine examples of people who overcame physical handicaps, but there are also a lot of accomplished people who excelled in relatively cushy environments.  Leonardo da Vinci comes to mind, Gore Vidal, Edith Wharton... etc.

[24KT]

It's probably also important to note that people who succeed are motivated by the fact that they simply don't give a sh*t what other people think and doggedly pursue their often creative vision because they just know inside that they are "right." Woody Allen didn't flunk out of English because he was deficient in that area. He was bored and didn't care and had his own creative ideas he preferred to pursue. Albert Einstein actually excelled in elementary school. He too was just bored with the teaching methods he encountered while pursuing his higher education and finegeled his way out of them. These are some fine examples of people who overcame physical handicaps, but there are also a lot of accomplished people who excelled in relatively cushy environments.  Leonardo da Vinci comes to mind, Gore Vidal, Edith Wharton... etc.

DeeDee, I would have to say cushy is a relative term. Infact, I would argue Edith wharton found her guilded cage to be far from cushy, but rather oppressive and stifling. I would argue that her constant suffocation was a catalyst to her accomplishments no?

[Deedee]

DeeDee, I would have to say cushy is a relative term. Infact, I would argue Edith wharton found her guilded cage to be far from cushy, but rather oppressive and stifling. I would argue that her constant suffocation was a catalyst to her accomplishments no?

Actually not to my mind, since virtually all women lived under those conditions and very few tried to fly the coup; many were actually quite content.  I think it was more her artistic temperament, her sensitivity and intuition, and creative talent that impelled her to write. Perhaps her sensitivity made it more apparent to her that women lived in stifling circumstances. But that sensitivity is an inherent quality of the artist, not the result of overcoming obstacles. That she succeeded was in no small part helped by the fact that she was backed by huge bucks and a tolerant society family.  Otherwise, it's doubtful she would have persevered.

Everyone has obstacles in front of them from day one on this planet. Not everyone is strengthened by them, and most of the talentless will never see success no matter how hard they work or doggedly pursue their goals.  In the case of creative people, I think the instinct to succeed is both a need for expression that is larger than the person, mixed in with a healthy dose of not caring what other people think. I'd be willing to bet that Itzak Perlman would be who he became regardless of his physical handicap. He was born with an incredible talent and need for expression.

Of course, when it comes to business, the ability to overcome obstacles of a certain kind is a skillset that can be learned. It's just that motivational speakers often pull out the accomplishments of artists and other creative people to prove a point. It's motivating, sure, but not certain there's a real connection there.   

[24KT]

Actually not to my mind, since virtually all women lived under those conditions and very few tried to fly the coup;

Not ALL women lived under the same conditions, and quite a few tried to fly the coup.

many were actually quite content.

As are todays modern slaves.

The point is... adversity and obstacles are the stepping stones if we choose to take the next step.
What doesn't kill you can most certainly make you stronger and smarter, ...only if you learn from it.
There is such a thing as failing forward. Look at Chrétien. Who other than JoJo could've predicted such a comeback?

I think it was more her artistic temperament, her sensitivity and intuition, and creative talent that impelled her to write. Perhaps her sensitivity made it more apparent to her that women lived in stifling circumstances. But that sensitivity is an inherent quality of the artist, not the result of overcoming obstacles.

In her case, it could have been a combination of both. For the artist, self expression is right up there with oxygen. Without it, it's a slow suffocating death. 

That she succeeded was in no small part helped by the fact that she was backed by huge bucks and a tolerant society family.  Otherwise, it's doubtful she would have persevered.

Of course, she had support. She might have perservered, ...she might not have. we will never know.

Everyone has obstacles in front of them from day one on this planet. Not everyone is strengthened by them, and most of the talentless will never see success no matter how hard they work or doggedly pursue their goals.

Tell that to William Hung.   

In the case of creative people, I think the instinct to succeed is both a need for expression that is larger than the person, mixed in with a healthy dose of not caring what other people think. I'd be willing to bet that Itzak Perlman would be who he became regardless of his physical handicap. He was born with an incredible talent and need for expression.

Of course, when it comes to business, the ability to overcome obstacles of a certain kind is a skillset that can be learned. It's just that motivational speakers often pull out the accomplishments of artists and other creative people to prove a point. It's motivating, sure, but not certain there's a real connection there.   

Motivation & Inspiration for the journey. 

[Deedee]

Not ALL women lived under the same conditions, and quite a few tried to fly the coup.

True. Very few women had the kind of privileges she did. That's why she succeeded while so many never had a chance. The obstacles were removed. As far as flying the coup, I guess it depends on what you consider quite a few. However, I don't think you can point me to the tome bearing witness to the vast number of success stories from that particular period in history. Most women were squashed under the obstacles they faced.

n her case, it could have been a combination of both. For the artist, self expression is right up there with oxygen. Without it, it's a slow suffocating death. 

I guess that's my point, and I am in no way putting down the value of learning from one's mistakes.  It's just that very creative people, the geniuses walking the earth, really have no choice in the matter.  They are driven by something inside, and talent is an inherent gift. Woody Allen and Einstein didn't overcome mediocre intelligence to excel in their fields. Both were bored and disinterested with their studies. One just flunked out, the other used family influence and privilege to get him out of doing hard time at university. It might be a stretch, but you could very well say it was their laziness that was rewarded. Beethoven didn't gain any special insight into his art by becoming deaf. It didn't "improve" his work. His genius was there from the start, and so overwhelmingly great, that he had enough left over to compose great works despite not being able to hear them. Since his music was his life, it's doubtful he would have considered giving up or contemplating some other endeavor. Itzhak Perlman didn't need the use of his legs to become a great violinist. (That example is rather insulting if you ask me, but oh well). 

Talented creative people get reams and reams of "f**k you letters and rejections, but they persevere because they have an overpowering urge for self-expression and are inwardly consumed with it. Actually throughout history, and even today, many have only cultivated success through grants or the largesse of private persons or governments, which technically, "makes life easier."

Better examples would be to point to people who've become olympic level skiers with only one leg, or who have overcome nasty genetics to triumph on the bodybuilding podium etc. Risen to great wealth from nothing, the Margaret Sangers, that sort of thing.

[Debussey]

Beethoven didn't gain any special insight into his art by becoming deaf. It didn't "improve" his work. His genius was there from the start, and so overwhelmingly great, that he had enough left over to compose great works despite not being able to hear them. Since his music was his life, it's doubtful he would have considered giving up or contemplating some other endeavor. Itzhak Perlman didn't need the use of his legs to become a great violinist. (That example is rather insulting if you ask me, but oh well). 

At 8, Beethoven almost flunked music class. His teacher said he was the worst music student he'd ever had.

Sometimes genius and genius talents = not seen at first sight. A person can not know his/hers real talents before he/she/it has been in a field for some time. This was true for Beethoven, everybody thought he sucked, but with a little work, his talents surfaced.

One part of the article is a rip off: "History has shown us that the most celebrated winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats." Can you guess where the author found this?

[Deedee]

At 8, Beethoven almost flunked music class. His teacher said he was the worst music student he'd ever had.

Sometimes genius and genius talents = not seen at first sight. A person can not know his/hers real talents before he/she/it has been in a field for some time. This was true for Beethoven, everybody thought he sucked, but with a little work, his talents surfaced.

One part of the article is a rip off: "History has shown us that the most celebrated winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats." Can you guess where the author found this?

Are you sure you're thinking of Beethoven?  He started playing for an audience by the time he was 7 or 8. 

I looked up the quote -- it's Bertie Charles Forbes...

... as far as that quote goes, "History has shown us that the most celebrated winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed..." I guess the same thing can be said for the most celebrated (and non-celebrated) losers before they failed utterly and completely, too. 

[24KT]

True. Very few women had the kind of privileges she did. That's why she succeeded while so many never had a chance. The obstacles were removed. As far as flying the coup, I guess it depends on what you consider quite a few. However, I don't think you can point me to the tome bearing witness to the vast number of success stories from that particular period in history. Most women were squashed under the obstacles they faced.

I guess that's my point, and I am in no way putting down the value of learning from one's mistakes.  It's just that very creative people, the geniuses walking the earth, really have no choice in the matter.  They are driven by something inside, and talent is an inherent gift. Woody Allen and Einstein didn't overcome mediocre intelligence to excel in their fields. Both were bored and disinterested with their studies. One just flunked out, the other used family influence and privilege to get him out of doing hard time at university. It might be a stretch, but you could very well say it was their laziness that was rewarded. Beethoven didn't gain any special insight into his art by becoming deaf. It didn't "improve" his work. His genius was there from the start, and so overwhelmingly great, that he had enough left over to compose great works despite not being able to hear them. Since his music was his life, it's doubtful he would have considered giving up or contemplating some other endeavor. Itzhak Perlman didn't need the use of his legs to become a great violinist. (That example is rather insulting if you ask me, but oh well). 

But consider the handicap he faced (other people's prejudices) ...is that not a challenge to equally overcome?

Talented creative people get reams and reams of "f**k you letters and rejections, but they persevere because they have an overpowering urge for self-expression and are inwardly consumed with it. Actually throughout history, and even today, many have only cultivated success through grants or the largesse of private persons or governments, which technically, "makes life easier."

Only if they perservere long enough to receive the largesse.

Better examples would be to point to people who've become olympic level skiers with only one leg, or who have overcome nasty genetics to triumph on the bodybuilding podium etc. Risen to great wealth from nothing, the Margaret Sangers, that sort of thing.

So take it up with Harvey MacKay. 

[onlyme]

A saying I used to use all the time was

"Obstacles are what you see when you take your eye off your goal"