The Chinese word for “crisis” is the same as the word for “opportunity.”
If there’s one characteristic found in all successful people, it’s the ability to persevere and overcome obstacles. The ability to take a crisis and turn it into opportunity. Those that struggle with life invariably give up far too quickly. They allow a crisis to overwhelm them.
“Sooner or later comes a crisis in our affairs, and how we meet it determines our future happiness and success. Since the beginning of time, every form of life has been called upon to meet such crisis.” – Robert Collier
Creating opportunities out of crisis requires determination. When placed in a crisis with multiple obstacles and little hope, do you push forward or do you give up? The ability to accept the situation makes intelligent action easier.
Focus on solutions. Unsuccessful people are masters at concentrating on their challenges and making them more intimidating than they are. Keep your thoughts on the solutions. You can control your thoughts and emotional response in every situation. Take advantage of this as you deal with a crisis in your life.
Soichiro Turn Crisis Into Opportunity
The story of Mr. Soichiro Honda is an excellent example of turning crisis into opportunity. In 1938 Mr. Honda invested in a little workshop. There he worked on creating a piston ring. Mr. Honda had invested almost everything in his business. His goal was to sell it to Toyota. But Toyota didn’t like his first piston rings.
Mr. Honda didn’t give up. Two years later he had a new design. Toyota extended a contract for Mr. Honda to produce piston rings.
Now Mr. Honda needed a factory. The Japanese government wouldn’t provide concrete. They were preparing for war. Did this crisis stop Mr. Honda? No. He figured out how to make his concrete. Soon he had his factory producing piston rings for Toyota.
Then came the war. His factory was bombed. Mr. Honda and his team repaired the factory and carried on. Then in 1945 an earthquake flattened his factory. He sold what was left of his company to Toyota.
After the war, there was a shortage of gas. The fuel crisis lead to an opportunity. Mr. Honda put a small motor on his bicycle. Soon he was producing lightweight motorbikes. This was the beginning of the Honda company.
Mr. Honda’s story is an excellent example of turning crisis into opportunity. You probably won’t deal with the crisis’s that Mr. Honda faced. Yet you will have crises in your life. It’s how you relate to a crisis that determines your future. Train your mind to find opportunity in crisis.
“I really do think that any deep crisis is an opportunity to make your life extraordinary in some way.” – Martha Beck
Your Turn
How will you look at your current or next crisis? Will you learn to see the opportunity in crisis?