Pillar Of Strength
In his book Grinding it Out, Ray Kroc, the man who made McDonald's what it is
today, wrote about his father. Kroc senior was a hardworking man who was doing
well in real estate before the Depression, expanding his holdings and using
credit to exten 23323e414x d himself even further. "When the market collapsed, he was
crushed beneath a pile of deeds he could not sell," wrote Kroc. "The
land they described was worth less than he owed. This was an unbearable
situation for a man of my father's principled conservatism. He died of a
cerebral hemorrhage in 1930. He had worried himself to death. On his desk the
day he died were two pieces of paper-his last paycheck from the telegraph
company and a garnishment notice for the entire amount of his wages."
Bad stuff happens, and sometimes it's big. You don't want it to crush you. You
want to be strong. So start now taking every small bad thing that happens as an
opportunity to repeat this idea to yourself:
There will be an advantage in this. I will find it or I will make it.
Repeat it until you see or can make an advantage out of it. If you will do
this, you will stand as a fortress of strength for your family in situations
that would make lesser men and women collapse in hopelessness. This idea is not
some namby-pamby, rah-rah, positive-thinking nonsense. It is a source of
tremendous strength. It may save your life someday. For sure it will be good
for your health. Ingrain that thought-make that pathway through your brain
well-worn-and you'll be able to face up to difficulties that would make a mere
mortal crawl and whimper.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is more successful than most people know. He's made a lot
of money with his films and married a Kennedy, but he's also a smart and
successful businessman outside of the movie business, with real estate, books,
restaurants, and fitness clubs. He is hugely successful. In his autobiography,
he wrote,
I didn't get certain things I needed as a child, and that, I think, finally
made me hungry for achievement...If I'd gotten everything and been
well-balanced, I wouldn't have had my drive. [Because of] this negative element
in my upbringing, I had a positive drive toward success...
He held up under the strain and turned it to his advantage. He didn't let it
crush him because of the way he thinks. This strength is within your grasp:
Find or make an advantage in everything that happens.
Adam Khan
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