Silver Lining Stories
Claim – “Inside of every silver lining story is a cloud.” – Mary Kay Ashe
Explain – Most of life is a string of failures followed by an occasional success. We have been lead to believe the opposite. When I ask clients how many days go exactly as they planned, most of them laugh. When I point out that they are planning failures, yet overall successes, they understand. Thomas Watson got it right when he explained that the key to doubling IBM’s revenues was to double its failure rate. Combining taking action with a “failure is just feedback” attitude is the essence of The Silver Lining Principle. So many of those people we looked at from afar as major successes were merely the ones that applied these principles more often and more consistently than their contemporaries.
Stories – Glen Cunningham, America’s first great miler, lost his brother, his toes and his skin in a fire. He didn’t lose his desire and values.
Walt Disney got turned down by 7 major banks and investors.
Mary Kay Ash was told by “business experts” to burn her life savings rather than attempt to start a company.
Steve Jobs lost his own company.
Edison failed 2,000 times building the first light bulb, and then his laboratory burned up.
None of them lost Churchill’s famous admonition, “Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never Quit.”
Questions to ask yourself:
Which friend has the best silver lining story?
What will be your greatest silver lining story?
Next - Part 9 Steering Clear of the Next Storm
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