“When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.” Peter Marshall

These days it seems wherever you turn there is talk about how the world is crumbling to pieces. We have undoubtedly witnessed a lot of turbulence over the last couple of months. With the way things are going I believe it is going to be a while until we see an upturn in the global economy. Now there are a couple of ways we can face this reality. We can either face this difficult period with our chin up, or we can give into the critics and lose all hope. In the end the decision lies squarely with us. Like many individuals and companies, quite a few of my investments have been hit by the current financial meltdown. It is an eerie and most disturbing feeling to see your assets crumble and have very little control over the course they take. However whenever I have experienced such times I always seem to come out a little stronger, and appreciate what I have a lot more.

As a business owner we have to continuously face challenges. This is not limited to external events alone, it could be a new competitor or the loss of a vital business partner among other reasons. The fact of the matter is that we have to learn how to deal with these challenges in an effective manner to enable us to recover from them. A great book has been written about broader challenges faced by companies around the world called “Stall Points” by Derek van Bever and Seth Verry. The book provides a wealth of information regarding common stall points faced by companies and their impact.

In this week’s series I will talk about some broader points to help navigate the difficult times which one will undoubtedly face. I will walk you through some basic steps I go through whenever I am faced with a difficulty of some sort. In the end however, it all boils down to your attitude and your personal outlook on life as a whole. If we are not able to take our head out of the sand there is very little one can do, and this will result in further losses and our failures tend to become self fullfiling prophecies. We have to avoid this attitude at all costs! If anyone reading this would like to share their story of a personal victory during a difficult period of time it will be much appreciated.