Being the leader of a sales organization for over a quarter of a century, I understand the value of setting crystal clear goals and then focusing singular effort in attaining them. However, in the real world, one’s ultimate path to winning is neither straight, narrow or smooth. Ultimately we all face roadblocks. We all experience defeat. Sometimes we lose.
As has been stated by scores of wise sages from the beginning of creation, winning is rarely attained with one singular effort. Rather, it is often measured by one’s ability to rise from the ashes of defeat and to forge ahead. In doing so, we often discover that our ultimate victory is not actually what we envisioned it to be. At my age, I can identify with speaker, author and behavioral scientist Steve Maraboli’s point of view that, “As I look back on my life, I realize that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being re-directed to something better.”
This week’s story penned by Ivan King entitled In the Army is a great reminder that unexpected setbacks, no matter how devastating they may seem in the moment are often the doorways to our greatest achievements.
A certain young man had spent the better part of his adult life wanting to be in the army. That was all he ever thought about. So for an entire year, before he was to take the ASVAB, which is the qualifying exam given by the army, he trained. Consequently, every day he ran at least five miles in order to put himself in tip top shape. In addition, he lifted weights, exercised, ate only healthy foods and he even went so far as to shave his head.
Then the day finally came for the exam. The written part of the exam the young man passed with flying colors. He needed to score a certain amount of points if he was going to qualify to be an MP; his first goal was to spend a couple of years as a military policeman, but upon leaving the army his ultimate goal was to become an FBI or CIA agent.
From an elite group of one hundred and fifty others, the young man scored third best on his exam and based upon that result alone, he could qualify for any position in the army. Needless to say, he was very excited about the endless possibilities the army was going to provide for him in reaching his life goals.
The morning after taking the written exam, the young man had to go through a physical and this is where he ran into an unexpected and devastating roadblock. Everything was going according to plan, that is, until he got to the hearing test. He was put in a soundproof booth and earphones were set over his ears. The test was simple enough; every time he heard a noise he was to lift his hand. The noise would vary from ear to ear and it came in the form of soft beeps.
The problem was that the young man was completely deaf in his left ear, so every time the beep sounded on his left side he was not able to hear it. Ultimately this lead him to failing this part of the physical examination.
He was then led into the office of the commander in charge and after several seemingly endless minutes he commander came in and sat at his desk. He abruptly told the young man that he was not going to be allowed into the army because of the fact that he was obviously hearing impaired.
The young man was crushed. This was such a devastating blow for him. Never in his entire life had he looked upon his hearing as a handicap. He had always been able to accomplish whatever he had put his mind to do, but now he was not going to be able to attain what he considered his life dream and his life plan. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was truly handicapped.
He was depressed for weeks. He just couldn’t pull himself together. But then, out of nowhere, something miraculous happened. He got a notice in the mail that he had been awarded a full scholarship to attend college. He had been selected from a distinct group of hundreds of applicants. Unbeknownst to him, his high school guidance counselor had sent in his application accompanied by a glowing letter of recommendation.
The young man ended up going to college and completing his undergraduate studies, getting a master’s degree in marketing and went on to become one of the most important executives in one of the most successful advertising agencies in the world. He became a millionaire, married, had children and delighted as they grew to become successful adults and provided him with grandchildren. Upon reflection, as he reached the end of his life journey, he realized that all of his true wishes in life had come true.
And that it was all thanks to the fact that he was deaf in one ear.
Sometimes it is hard to see past the negative that is in front of us; but be patient because we never know how our story will ultimately end. Remember, sometimes in life, what seems to be our biggest negative can also turn out to be our biggest positive.
How many people are completely successful in every department of life? Not one. The most successful people are the ones who learn from their mistakes and turn their failures into opportunities. – Zig Ziglar
Have an AWE-full Weekend!
William J. “Bill” Bacqué