Todays Leadership Moment really hits home for me. My post-concussion syndrome and the damages it has caused (physically, neurologically, and in my relationships) has been the most humiliating and humbling event of my life. If you know of someone who has a brain injury, please do them the favor of learning about what happens, so you can better understand what they are going through. I am doing my best to overcome this adversity with grace, and hope that others give me grace too. ADVERSITY: THE GREATNESS CHALLENGE From: Yaeger, D. (2011). Greatness: the 16 characteristics of true champions. New York: Center Street. Adversity is one of the most potent forces in life, one that can bring out your best or your worse. Ultimately, its up to you. How will you handle obstacles? Will they be roadblocks or springboards? Consider this unlikely ascent to Greatness: In 1922, when Ernest Hemingway was still struggling to get published, a suitcase containing almost all of his drafts and manuscripts was lost on a train. Left with only two stories out of all his efforts, Hemingway was crushed. But upon the advice of his good friend and already-established author Ezra Pound, he re-created all he could of what had been lost, and in so doing established one of his stylistic trademarks - bare-bones language and a simple, journalistic tone. Rather than throwing in the towel when he was faced with a seemingly insurmountable challenge, and thus robbing the twentieth century of one of its most important literary voices, Hemingway listened to Pounds encouragement and used the devastating situation as something to make his work stronger (p. 108).
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 12:39:02 +0000