Adversity strengthens determination.

See the full case study by Peter Sergeant in the Knowledge Base.

The nature of adversity.

I started my own business in the agricultural machinery industry at the ripe old age of 24. I was used to winning; everything seemed to work for me, and I rarely felt the ill winds of adversity. When I look back on those ill winds of trouble, I understand the importance of making mistakes and having failures, which takes time to understand genuinely. 

The loss of a tractor sale changed my mindset from loser to winner. I quickly learned that for you to win, someone else had to lose; the pie would not necessarily get any bigger. I had to learn how to win, but I also realised that each time I lost, my knowledge increased. Every time we lost a sale, we became a little better until we began beating the competitors and overcame our difficulties and misalignments with what customers sought.

Over the first few years, we reduced competitors from twelve in our town to four, and losing a few sales did not constitute adversity. Adversity first struck with a significant rural recession. The farmers were not making money, and few would invest in their future.  Fortunately, we were small enough to withstand the issues involved. In the years we were in business, we weathered several droughts, weak commodity prices and multinationals dumping products on the market.

What made the difference?

What made the difference was remaining passionate about improving our business management, working to our strengths, and providing the best possible service to our customers. 

A better understanding of adversity came when we faced the worst drought in 100 years. The real impact was terrifying. Farmers were shooting their cattle and sheep. There was no feed, and it was much cheaper to shoot them than truck them to market and get next to nothing for them. We were eventually forced to close the business as there was nothing we could do but face the reality of our situation and move on.

Eight years later, I was only 46 years old; adversity struck again. This time, it was personal. I had to undergo a significant bowel cancer operation, which was soon followed by diabetes, and then a couple of years later, I had a heart attack. This sort of adversity throws a real ‘spanner in the works’.  A decade on, I  had to deal with another bowel cancer operation, another heart attack, malignant melanoma and going permanently deaf in one ear.

Refocusing your vision can make all the difference.

If your vision or purpose for doing what you do becomes unclear, then adversity will destroy you. However, suppose you continuously keep your mission and vision at the forefront of your mind. In that case, you will press through any adversity because you know what you are doing in life is more significant than the present circumstances you are experiencing.

When I look back over my life and all the adversity, I sometimes think it must have been in my imagination how I could have survived and thrived after all that. Well, I did, and I have had no regrets, as the learning and opportunities have been numerous.  

There is always someone worse off than you, and as life won’t wait for you, you have to get on with it. We all have bad habits, but some are worse than others. Maybe it’s time to make some choices.

Quotable quotes

“All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me… You may not realise it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you”. Walt Disney

“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit”. Napoleon Hill