My Share of Adversity

 ​I entered into partnership with my buddy in a wellness and restaurant business. He was a professional chef with significant years of experience in the hotel industry. We invested in a property in a great location on a hill overseeing the city. It was a beautiful site in the evening when all the patrons came around. On one side of the property we had a squash court, a sauna, massage rooms and a recreational area. After work and on weekends the place was filled with professionals from various businesses and segments of society having a great time at our business place. On the other side of the property were the restaurant, two bar areas with pool tables, table tennis and a place to watch various movies on a wide screen. Folks just loved to visit this place to meet their business associates, friends and family. Others come to rent the facility for corporate functions, parties, training and other events. The business did very well until I discovered that my partner had been taking money out of the business without accounting for it. 

As the person managing the place, he felt he had the liberty to be generous with money for himself and his family, even though we made provision for his upkeep. Long story short, I lost all my investment and got out of the business. The situation created animosity between my buddy and I for a long time. I had the choice of being bitter over the ordeal but decided to take the higher road to let it go. It was not easy at first because I saw this investment as one of my strategies for multiple streams of income. But I forgave my buddy, learned from the experience and moved on. On the positive side I learned what works with clients, tested a number of principles for service excellence, and made a few friends from our pool of patrons. The experience made me better, not bitter. 

I don’t know about your experience with partnerships but if yours didn’t work either, you sure have learnt a few lessons as well. There is something about taking the higher road in a hurting situation; when you let go, you feel better and move faster through the pain and experience. What have you been dealt with? What are you holding onto and refusing to let go of? Who are you holding onto, thinking that letting go may be interpreted as a weakness? You will always win when you take the higher road. 

Action exercise on Adversity

1.    Take a trip down adversity memory lane and list three major challenges you have             gone through.
2.    Describe how you have used these challenges or are going to use these to your                  advantage.
3.    What pain or struggles are you currently going through? Name them.
4.    List two major pains or challenges you must let go of to be free to pursue your goals        with gusto.
5.    Identify three main opportunities from your challenges to use to achieve massive              success.