Mar

19

One of the tenets of my life is that I want to be known as the guy with the most losses. I want to be the guy that lost the most. My reason for this is simple: the guy with the most losses is also the guy with the most victories.

As a kid, I figured out that even though I did not like losses, I could learn from them. Therefore, I stopped looking at them as losses. I looked upon them as learning experiences. I figured out early in my life that my viewpoint and the events surrounding it were paramount to my success (or failure).

Therefore, I want to share with you all my viewpoint of the recent robbery of my farm.

Yes, I'm unhappy about what happened, but there's nothing I can do about it. I can only work to prevent it from happening in the future.

But what wisdom can I glean from this "learning experience?"

I thought about this as my buddy Jeff and I were driving home on Friday night from the farm (he volunteered to go up with me and give me a hand). We both were discussing successes and failures in our life. Jeff shared some of his more poignant experiences in his very successful life. He's a dermatologist who specializes in reconstructive surgery usually involving facial cancers of some sort.

What ended up happening in our discussion is that after we talked about our successes and failures, we both began to focus on the good things that came out of them and how our lives were blessed.

I concluded that even though I lost a bunch of stuff, I could have lost a whole lot more. The deputy was stunned that I hadn't been robbed sooner (especially after he saw all the stuff I kept in there) and he thought I was lucky that they didn't get more. He figured that someone or something had scared them off. I also concluded that even though I lost a bunch of stuff, all I lost was "stuff."

You see, the reason I got all of my stuff was because of all the actions I had performed in my life, my actions being my efforts directed towards gaining success. And I concluded that I had done it once and I could do it again.

You see, I already know what it takes to get the job done; therefore, all I have to do is repeat those actions. I know how to do it. I'll do it again. I don't have to invent something new, or figure out some mystery, or solve the problem of how to gain that level of material wealth. I have the knowledge, the skill, and ability.

Years ago, I used to be asked to teach others about little secrets of success. I enjoyed giving these talks. The teacher always learns more than the pupils. It was a great journey of self-discovery and introspection. One thing I used to say at these meetings was, "You could take everything that I have in this world: my home, my business, all my assets, even the clothes on my back. You could then beat me with a baseball bat and toss my naked, bloodied, financially devastated body out into the middle of nowhere and leave me for dead, and I would get it all back. Why? Because I know how to do it.

My purpose for saying this was twofold:

First, because I didn't want anyone listening to me talk to think that anything about their situation was an excuse for failure. And second, because I knew it was true.

Little did I know that in the late 90s I would get a chance to put those words to practice. I experienced a devastating personal crisis that lasted for several years. It cost me my business and I came within hours of losing my home. I nearly lost my mind fighting a battle against an unbeatable foe. I discovered who my friends were. I also discovered who the  weasels and cowards were.

But most important, I discovered that I had the resolve to withstand an experience what was, at the very best, surreal in it's unbelievably. There were times I felt as completely and hopeless lost as ship adrift at sea. There were times that I went days without sleep. At times I doubted everything.

But always, there was that little voice inside my head that said, "Hold fast. You resolved to hold true to your beliefs, now hold on to them."

That voice saved me. That little voice was so deeply imbedded into my core beliefs that this adversity, no matter how dark of a comedy it became, no matter how much it resembled a scene in Alice in Wonderland where the Queen says, "off with their heads," that belief was not going to go away.

You see, I had worked for years to train myself to believe that I was destined for success, that I was destined to have a wonderful, joyful life of meaning. That this situation was merely a learning opportunity for me to gain strength and test my resolve and it would be the launching pad for greater and more meaningful things that were to come.

That was more than a decade ago, and when I look at my life then and where I am today, I know I am a blessed man. I believe that I am better off today than I would have been if I had continued on the path I was on. My business partner at that time turned out to be a complete weasel. You don't ever truly succeed when dealing with weasels. Because of what happened, this partner was revealed to me to be the weasel that he was. I am far better off without him in my life!

I believe that positive thinking and looking at everything that happens to me as a learning experience has served me well. I've said on this list many times that I am far from the smartest spec. To be truthful, if we set up an IQ bell curve for specs, I am confident that I would find myself in the far left tail of that curve. That's OK. I am what I am. I can't change the fact that I don't have abilities that come so naturally to many of my spec friends. But, if you'll recall, I wrote a post in the last few weeks about being a great follower (which I'd like to think I am). You see, I like to surround myself with people who are much smarter than I, and then learn from them.

One of the things that I've discovered since being invited to be a spec is that I had small but important error in my thought processes that has plagued me for years. You see I've always said to myself, "my resolve will overcome your intellect." It didn't matter how smart a person was, I would eventually win because I would never, under circumstances, surrender.

Well, the error was simple, yet important. I may win with my resolve, but if I could add to my intellect on top of that, I would become a force greater than I could ever even imagine. So I made a decision several years ago to increase my knowledge. Lo and behold, seemingly out of nowhere, I was introduced to the spec list and invited to be a participant, and my knowledge has increased exponentially since being honored with membership here!

But what can I give back to all those who have given so much to me? I know what I am on the spec list. I am the student sitting at the feet of the masters fervently trying to take notes and grasp the seeds of wisdom. But still, I have to give back.

I guess the best thing I have to offer is my philosophy of life. That is the philosophy of "never give up," and the philosophy of wanting to be the known as the guy with the most losses. The philosophy of wanting to be the guy who never loses, but has a whole pile of learning experiences.

I guess what I have to offer to my spec friends is an example. If a guy like me can do it, then any of you can, too. And whatever it is that you're doing, you can do more of it and do it better. Because by adding an unbending resolve to your keen intellectual abilities, you will achieve anything you want.

I am grateful for being allowed to be a part of this community. It has blessed my life in incalculable ways.

Oh yeah, and I will get the "stuff" back that was stolen from me by focusing only on my blessings and the positive increase I will experience, the gain I will experience above and beyond what was stolen from me, by performing the activities necessary to achieve what I desire!


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