Tom DuBos
Here’s a question to ponder: What do Jim Rohn and Bruce Lee have in common? Probably quite a few things, as they both were extremely successful at their chosen fields. What struck me is they both shared a basic truth in fairly similar language. See their versions at these links: Rohn and Lee . I’ll paraphrase to avoid picking a favorite: Don’t wish your life was easier, strive for the strength to overcome the hardships.
While the first option is indeed tempting, it’s guaranteed to disappoint you sooner rather than later. Besides, if you think about the people you admire the most, I’ll bet they didn’t have everything handed to them. We admire those who overcome adversity.
Not surprisingly, our greatest struggles provide the greatest lessons. That’s certainly been true for me. Whether it was losing a job, falling short of a big goal, or adapting to a family setback, those are the times I’ve grown as an individual. Those setbacks taught me things I never would have known about myself and opened new opportunities I would have never explored had things continued along the easy path.
One of the attributes I admire most in people is resourcefulness. People who can be effective in difficult or unusual situations, and be creative when things are tough are great role models. They’re proactive, positive and tremendously valuable as team members.
How do you foster your resourcefulness? Here’s three keys to work on:
Stop and think: It’s counterintuitive, but one of the most useful first steps is to stop long enough to make an accurate and complete assessment of the challenges and potential solutions. Too often I’ve been guilty of “ready, fire, aim!” mentality, when a more measured approach would have opened better options.
Seek information and resources: Once you’ve assessed the situation and start formulating potential options, compare those options based on the resources available. This is where you want to be creative — how can you fill the gaps between what you have and what you need? Weigh the time required to acquire more resources against the advantage of moving sooner. If you’re a fan of “The Princess Bride” movie, you may be thinking of the scene where Westley and Fezzik create their plan to storm the castle. It’s amazing what you can do with a wheelbarrow and a cloak. For those baffled by that reference, go watch the movie. You’ll thank me later.
Be proactive: This is the toughest step, especially if you suffer from a need to be perfect. You’ll never know as much as you want to, you’ll never feel fully ready to take that big next step and put your ego at risk. But fortune favors the bold, so work on proactively pushing out boundaries, taking calculated risks, and not settling for a woulda, coulda, shoulda mentality.
Shameless plug alert: I spend a fair bit of time on the topic of resourcefulness in my NCET Biz Bite presentation, Own Your Destiny, in case you want to mark your calendar for Wednesday, May 24. I’ll also cover other topics that can improve your personal effectiveness including creating trusting relationships and cultivating an ownership mindset. You’ll hear stories illustrating those attributes and behaviors, including some personally embarrassing ones, drawn from my experience as a ski patroller, search and rescue volunteer and Ironman triathlete.
Learn more about personal effectiveness and how to Own Your Destiny at NCET’s Biz Bite. For information, go to www.NCETbite.org.
Tom DuBos is a speaker and recovering engineer, who helps professionals discover their capacity for greatness and achieve it. www.tomdubos.com.
