Success Key 5: Embrace Obstacles, the Stepping Stones to Success

The very struggle to overcome the obstacles in our way is what develops our Power to carry ourselves step-by-step towards Success.  Adverse circumstances spur a determined individual to Success.

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Success KEY: Embrace Obstacles, the Stepping Stones to Success

Sunset on the Presidential Range from Lonesome Lake, New Hampshire, January 2009

Obstacles in the path to Success are truly in the eye of the beholder.  They can be our stepping stones and spur a determined and persistent soul to Success.  Or, if our will to Succeed is not strong, they can easily transform a temporary defeat into ultimate failure.hjhh

Despite our inherent nature to focus on the depth and breadth of the obstacle as an indicator of whether or not we may achieve our goal, a critical characteristic of all obstacles is that their divisive effect on one's attempts to attain Success is not at all inherent in the obstacle itself.  Whether or not an obstacle defeats our attempts to achieve Prosperity, Wealth and Success has nothing to do with the nature, level or extent of the obstacle.  Rather, it is our perception of the obstacle and how we handle it that determines whether or not we Succeed.

To a determined and persistent individual, with a strong desire and a fiercely developed will, obstacles are nothing more than mere stepping stones that must be traversed and overcome in order to reach the goal.  The very struggle to overcome the obstacles in our path actually develops the power that carries us step-by-steptowards our goal.  Adverse circumstances do not deter a determined and persistent individual to Success; adverse circumstances spur a determined and persistent individual to Success.

The degree in which a man sees insurmountable obstacles and impossible situations in his path will measure his Success ability.  Robert Collier, "The Secret of the Ages."

As Robert Collier notes in The Secret of the Ages:

The man who waits for favorable conditions and favorable circumstances will find that success in any field is never a walkover.  It is the man who wins in spite of circumstances, in spite of adverse circumstances, the man who wins when other people say he cannot, the man who does the "impossible," the man who rides over obstacles, who gets on in this world.  And why?  Because the very struggle to overcome obstacles in his way develops the power that carries him step by step."

Think of it this way.  Suppose a goal is to hike to the top of a small mountain.  There are several paths by which the mountain may be climbed.  Each path, although unique in its own way - with various grades of steepness, rockiness and other hindrances that must be overcome in the quest to the top - are all identical in one respect: each path leads to and ends at the top of the mountain.  Each path ends at the same elevation above sea level.  Each path leads to and ends at the same goal.  In that respect, all paths are identical.

Now, to attain the goal and reach the top of the mountain, no matter which path is chosen, the climber must necessarily climb the same number of feet in elevation and, necessarily (for purposes of this demonstration), encounter the same general obstacles along the hiking path (no ropes, anchors  or 'biners required for this climb!), all of which MUST be overcome to reach the top of the mountain - the goal.  That is, in order to reach the goal, you MUST encounter and overcome a certain number of obstacles on the path, regardless of which path you take.  The obstacles are part and parcel of the journey; you cannot have the goal without the adverse conditions.  They go together and it is impossible to separate the two - for how can one reach the peak of a mountain without enduring the climb?  Without the sides of the mountain (wherein the obstacles are embodied), there is no top.  In fact, there is no mountain!  Taking this line of reasoning, therefore, there is only but one undisputed conclusion: "Without obstacles, there can be no Success!"

"Every adversity brings with it the seed of an equivalent advantage."  Napoleon Hill, "Think and Grow Rich"

The obstacles that we encounter along our path to achieving Success are not to be avoided.  They are to be embraced!  For each time we overcome one more obstacle, one more adverse circumstance, we are one more step along the climb to the top.  Avoiding the obstacles (classic "terror barrier") means one thing: no Growth, no Success.

So, the next time you see the inevitable and unavoidable obstacle coming down the pike - don't run away from it.  Run towards it!  It is an Opportunity to be embraced, for it means Growth and one more step towards your Goal.

See obstacles as your friends, for they are guides along the way on the Path to Success.