The Power of Choice: Using Adversity as the Catalyst for Change

None of us will make it through life without committing a seriesnof mistakes or errors in judgment.

I know I have made my share. Mistakes are a part of life.

I don't mind making them, however I don't want to keep repeating nthe same ones over and over.

Some of them have been very costly and downright embarrassing.

Let me share with you one of my biggest mistakes, and morenimportantly, let me share with you the valuable lesson I learnednfrom it.

It was 1997. I had worked my way out of poverty and had grownnmy business from a $100 investment into a $200,000 a yearnincome.

I had learned how to make money, but had no clue how to managenit.

An acquaintance of mine, we'll call her Joni, mentioned to menthat she was buying a lot of shares of a particular stock, withnthe expectation that it would soon split or triple in pricenwithin a few months. She told me she was investing her lifensavings into buying as much as she could and that I should donthe same.

I thought about it, and at the time, I was saving money to buy mynmom a new house so I thought, hey if I took the $30,000 I hadnsaved up and bought the stock - and it tripled, that would ben$90,000. Great move, right? (Mistake #1)

Well obviously I had never purchased stocks before and I had nonidea how to do it. So what did I do?

I heard my UPS guy, (yes, my UPS guy) invested in stocks so Inasked him how to buy stocks. He told me to go to XXX broker inntown (who shall remain nameless) and open an account. (Mistaken#2)

So I went to the broker, whom eagerly helped me open an accountnand he completed the transaction that bought me $30,000 of thisnparticular stock. (Mistake #3)

Within a few months, the stock had plummeted and went fromn$30,000 down to $400. That's not a typo, it had gone down ton$400.

I was sick about it. I was incredibly disappointed in myself.

I was upset with the other parties who guided me to create thatnoutcome. I had every reason to be angry. I felt cheated. Inmean, I later learned the broker broke the law and never shouldnhave placed such a large order for a first time client. They nare not supposed to allow beginners to take such large risks.

I had every reason to blame everyone else for what had happened.

But I learned a very valuable lesson during that time and it hasnserved me ever since.

I want to share it with you because I want you to pause and think nabout this the next time you experience a challenge, a difficulty nor a problem in life, especially when you are tempted to blameneveryone and everything around you.

Here is the lesson.

You always have a choice.

You see, I could have looked at that situation from a "Nail i

My Coffin" perspective: ie "those people did me wrong and it'sntheir fault," and "I'll never buy another stock again"

OR

I could have looked at it as a "Catalyst for Change"nperspective. ie "I am responsible. I made the decisions, Indidn't do my diligent research, I invested too much on my firstntrade, I will take a step back and re evaluate my approach nextntime."

Let me simplify it and break it down even further:

Problem: lost $29,600 in stock trade

My Choices:

Nail in Coffin = I am a Victim and I give my power away when Inblame others

OR

Catalyst for Change = I emerge the Victor because I claim my powe
to change the present and the future by taking responsibility

You see, I could have easily put the blame on everyone else.
And if I did that, I would never have learned the lesson. Inwould have never changed. Though it wasn't easy, after looking atnit, I knew there were a number of things I could have donendifferently.

Whenever you focus blame outside of yourself, you give you
power away.

Whenever you take responsibility, you claim your ability tonchange, grow, and create different outcomes in the future.

I knew that despite the appearance of the circumstances, that Inwas responsible for that loss. I made a series of errors innjudgment, as well intentioned as they were.

As long as you blame others outside yourself, you will notnchange. Nothing will change for you. You will be doomed tonrepeat the same mistakes.

You always have a choice.

Liberate yourself by taking responsibility for your actions,neven when you can justify placing it outside yourself.

Let your mistakes serve you.

Learn from them, let them change you for the better.

Let them empower you.

I turned one of my biggest mistakes into one of my greatestnlessons and by taking 100% responsibility, I allowed it to servenme. I took back my power.

I used as a catalyst for positive change.

"Every problem contains within it the seed of an equal or greate
opportunity. Not just some of the time, but all of the time." -Jill Koenig

The facts remained the same, I still lost $ 29,600.

But it doesn't hurt anymore.

My perspective on it changed.

It became a blessing that has served me many times over.

When you change the way you look at things, the things you looknat change.

Live Your Dreams