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“The Chinese symbol for crisis means danger. It also means opportunity.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2013-02-15) From his book, Be A People Person: Effective Leadership Through Effective Relationships (p. 74). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title of the book to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

That is so important to realize.  John goes on, “The key is to use a crisis as an opportunity for change. You’ll never succeed if you throw up your hands and surrender.”

He then quotes the Greek poet Homer who understood the value of a crisis. He wrote, “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.”

John goes on, “Remember the story of the chicken farmer whose land was flooded virtually every spring? Even though the floods caused him horrendous problems, he refused to move. When the waters would back up onto his land and flood his chicken coops, he would race to move his chickens to higher ground. Some years, hundreds of them drowned because he couldn’t move them out in time. One year after suffering heavy losses from a particularly bad flood, he came into the farmhouse and in a voice filled with despair, told his wife, ‘I’ve had it, I can’t afford to buy another place. I can’t sell this one. I don’t know what to do!’ His wife calmly replied, ‘Buy ducks.’”  I love that, “Buy ducks.”

In every crisis there is an opportunity to grow, to learn to change.  Don’t waste the crisis.  Learn the lesson.  Make the change.  Be creative.

John started this section by saying, “Everyone faces problems. The ability to creatively find solutions will determine the success or failure of each difficulty.”


So what crisis or opportunity are you facing today?

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