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Nightingale-Conant presents Victor M. Parachin

8 Ways to Turn Obstacles into Opportunities

The Royal Palace of Teheran in Iran contains one of the most beautiful mosaics in the world. There, the ceilings and walls flash in multifaceted reflections as if lit up by thousands of diamonds. When the palace was designed, the architect specified huge sheets of mirrors on the walls. As the first shipment arrived from Paris, builders found, to their horror, that the mirrors were shattered. The contractor threw them into the trash and sadly informed the architect. To the surprise of the builders, the architect ordered all the broken pieces collected, then proceeded to smash them into smaller pieces and had them glued to the walls, creating a mosaic of silvery, shimmering, mirrored bits of glass. Obviously, the architect had the eye of an artist to take something broken and turn it into something beautiful. However, there is another lesson to be gleaned from that story, and it is this: Pain can be turned into gain, a problem can be turned into a profit, and an obstacle can become a glorious opportunity. That truth has been articulated by some of the world's greatest thinkers. "The greater the difficulty, the greater the glory," wrote Cicero. "A smooth sea never made a successful sailor," declared author Herman Melville. "Adversity is the midwife of genius," observed Napoleon. Here are eight ways you can turn an obstacle into opportunity and a problem into something profitable.

1. Seek out the advantage inside the adversity.
   The difference between those who succeed and those who fail often lies in the ability to spot the opportunity in the obstacle and the advantage inside the opportunity. In 1968, a researcher at the 3M company was trying to develop an exceptionally strong adhesive. One large batch of his experimental glue turned out exceptionally weak. Rather than toss it out, he mentioned the failure to colleagues at the 3M company, hoping they might find a use for it. Some time later, another 3M researcher, Art Fry, sat in his church choir struggling to keep paper bookmarks from falling out of his hymnal. He remembered the weak glue and wondered if it had the ability to re-adhere once pulled loose. Rapidly he began thinking about ways small pieces of paper could be stuck and restuck to other surfaces. Using the failed glue, Fry began experimenting, and, finally, Post-it Notes appeared on the market. They went on to become one of 3M's most profitable products. Today, most office workers could not get along without those sticky pieces of paper.
   
2. Keep problems in perspective.
   A young woman in college wrote her parents the following letter: "Dear Mom and Dad: I'm writing this on school paper because my stationery got lost in the fire. Just the other day, I got out of the hospital and moved in with Bill my boyfriend. Your new grandbaby is due next fall. Your loving daughter, Peggy. P.S. The above didn't happen, but I made a "C" in French and a "D" in history."
   
3. Identify new opportunities.
   "When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us," said Alexander Graham Bell. Don't be guilty of missing a new opportunity because you are blinded and paralyzed by a problem. Identify and respond to new openings when other doors slam shut.
   
4. Ask for help.
   Don't be a soloist in life. Don't feel you have to solve every problem that comes your way by yourself. Reach out and ask for assistance. "Understand that it takes strength to ask for help," writes David J. Lieberman, Ph.D., in his book Instant Analysis. "Asking for help requires that you be willing to take a risk. It takes a strong, confident person to ask for help. There's no guarantee that the request will be granted, but if you never ask, how will you ever know? Even if you get a negative answer, at least you know where the person stands, and you can move on to someone else who might be willing to answer positively. The very act of asking makes you stronger."
   
5. Accept responsibility.
   If a decision you made, an action you took, or words you spoke have created the problem, accept responsibility for it quickly. Don't play the blame game. Author David Axelrod says: "Admit your error. Own up. Then propose a course to correct the mistake. Never use your authority to mask mistakes. Admit them. Explain them. Apologize for them. Above all else, use them. Allow people to see how you accept responsibility and how you can learn from error. However, do not overanalyze mistakes or indulge in endless rounds of woulda, shoulda, coulda. Once you admit an error, look to the future. What have you learned? How will you keep this from happening again?"
   
6. Persistence pays.
   You can conquer the greatest problem by simply continuing. Victory often comes not to those who are the wisest or the strongest but to those who are the most persevering. "With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable," said Sir Thomas Foxwell Buxton.
   
7. Cultivate a sense of humor.
   The ability to see humor in a problem can lighten the burden considerably. Former NBA center and coach Johnny Kerr says his largest test as a coach came when he coached the Chicago Bulls. His biggest player was 6'8" Erwin Mueller. "We had lost seven in a row, and I decided to give a psychological pep talk before a game with the Celtics," Kerr said. He told one player to pretend he was the best scorer in basketball. He told another player to pretend he was the best defensive guard. He told a third player to pretend he could run an offense better than any other guard, and he told Erwin Mueller to pretend he was the best rebounding, shot-blocking, scoring center in the game. "We lost the game by 17. I was pacing around the locker room afterward trying to figure out what to say, when Mueller walked up, put his arm around me, and said, 'Don't worry about it, Coach. Just pretend we won.' "
   
8. Use the Difficulty.
   Although people naturally wish to be spared adversity and difficulty, this is not possible. Sooner or later, trials and tribulations come into every life. Because this is true, the best way of dealing with adversity is to embrace it and use it as the raw material for a greater good. "Adversity is the midwife of genius," declared Napoleon. Adversity calls on us to become innovative. The relentless discomfort created by trouble fine tunes the mind to see further possibilities. This was true for Charon Powell who gathered up the courage to leave an abusive relationship. Taking a truck, very little money, and her two young daughters, Powell made her way from rural Oklahoma to the city of Tulsa. After three days in a local motel, Powell didn't have enough money left in her coin jar to pay the bill. "I didn't know what I was going to do," she recalls. And, she will never forget what happened next.

"We were driving down the road counting that jar of pennies, and I saw a stack of discarded pallets," she says. Wondering if she could sell them, she scoured through a phone book until she found a pallet business owner in the area. Although it was Sunday, the man answered his phone and agreed to buy the pallets. Powell and her daughters were suddenly $76 wealthier. She paid her bill, but, more importantly, a new career emerged. Discarded pallets are dumped in lots and alleys and along roads, and stacked behind businesses. Often companies who have received a delivery don't need the pallets, but they don't realize those wooden items can be resold. Powell salvaged enough abandoned pallets to scrape together sufficient funds to establish ABC Pallets. Her growing company finds or buys pallets, then repairs and resells them. Powell readily admits her life has taken a big and positive change, especially for someone who never dreamed she would own her own company. It all began when adversity struck.

The best life lessons come when we are challenged and pushed to the edge. Adversity is often the preamble to greater achievement. When Sam Walton, the legendary founder of Wal- Mart, was asked why his discount stores were so successful, he answered: "We learned from failure faster than the other guy."

Legendary actor Michael Caine was asked what fatherly advice he had for his children. Immediately, his mind went back to an encounter with a repertory theater producer. Caine worked with that producer long before he became a famous actor. At the time, Caine was in rehearsal, waiting behind a door to come out during a scene in which a couple onstage were having an argument. They started throwing furniture, and a chair lodged in front of the door. Caine was cued to come onstage but he could not open the door because of the chair. He shouted: "I can't get in. The chair's in the way." Without hesitation, the producer said to Caine: "Use the difficulty." Confused, Caine asked what he meant by saying "use the difficulty." The producer explained: "Well, if it's a drama, pick it (the chair) up and smash it. If it's a comedy, fall over it." Caine says the point was not lost on him. "This idea stuck in my mind, and I taught it to my children — that any situation in life that's negative, there is something positive you can do with it. 'Use the difficulty' — it's like a motto in our family."

All people make mistakes, blunders, errors of thought and action. The key for successful and vital living lies in the way we respond to those human shortcomings. "To make no mistakes is not in the power of man; but from their errors and mistakes the wise and good learn wisdom for the future," observed Plutarch, the Greek writer and philosopher. Consider these ways of responding to your mistakes so that they work for you rather than against you.

Choose to admit the mistake. Those who stop making excuses are always the ones who start making results. When it's obvious you have erred, acknowledge it to yourself and to others who may be affected. Doing so allows you take ownership of the situation and to begin the process of correcting and adjusting. "You cannot afford the luxury of defensiveness, and you cannot afford the luxury of lies and denial," writes Dr. Phillip C. McGraw, Ph.D., in his book Life Strategies. "Denial, after all, is what kills dreams. It kills hope. It kills what might have been a real chance to overcome a problem had the solution been pursued in time. Denial can, quite literally, kill you."

Choose to act. Perhaps the biggest mistake when making a mistake lies in not changing directions. Benjamin Franklin wisely observed: "The man who does things makes many mistakes, but he never makes the biggest mistake of all — doing nothing." Don't let an error in judgment preclude you from taking corrective action. Remember that life rewards action. Consider this inspiration from Margaret Hamilton of Warner, New Hampshire. "I dated two boys who went off to World War II, and when they came home in 1945, I became engaged to one of them." Soon after, they began to plan their wedding, Margaret realized she'd made a huge mistake. Courageously, she broke the engagement and returned the ring. "The following months were very painful, as I waited to be sure of what was in my heart. At last I was, and I sent a letter to the other boy to tell him that I'd broken my engagement. He telephoned right away and we met for lunch. We were married a few months later. Had I not admitted my mistake, I would have missed out on 55 years of happiness."

Choose to apologize. Promptly and honestly say the right words when the wrong things have happened. Even better than a spoken apology is one that is carefully written and mailed to the offended person. An excellent example of a letter of apology is found in the book A Gentleman Pens a Note by John Bridges & Bryan Curtis. When there has been inappropriate behavior, they recommend a written note of apology like this:

"Dear Doris, I realize now that I behaved rather badly at the reception following little Kaitlyn's christening. The truth of the matter is, I had way too much of the celebratory champagne. I hope you know that otherwise I would never have attempted to wear Katilyn's car seat on my head. This was a day that should evoke only good memories in the future. Please forgive me if my behavior has marred those memories in any way. Sincerely, Randy"

Choose to learn from the mistake. Every mistake contains within it tremendous opportunity for learning and growth. When you make a mistake, don't ignore it. "If you choose to ignore the lessons being offered to you, you will continue on the path you've been on, eventually creating a larger problem in time, with the situation unresolved or the problem unabated," writes psychologist Patricia Farrell, Ph.D., in her book How to Be Your Own Therapist. "In a sense, you ultimately become smaller than the situation or problem; like a wound allowed to go untreated, the problem festers and infects you systemically."

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