Success is the Best Revenge

The seeds of great success are often right in front of you, hidden in the ashes of adversity

~ Francis Ford Coppola

Epictetus (AD 55–AD 135) – a Roman stoic philosopher - once said, "Adversity introduces a person to himself." Epictetus believed that there are things that are beyond our control and then there are things that are in our control. To him, the primary responsibility of individuals is to manage their own actions through rigorous self discipline. Suffering, in his view comes from trying to control things that are beyond our control and not focusing on what is controllable.

How do you respond to adversity? By managing your actions through rigorous self discipline or by trying to control and constantly worrying about those things that are beyond your control? For most of us, it’s probably a combination of both. It’s because we are human. But the most effective response is to focus on yourself and focus on the things that you can control.

Napoleon Hill once said, "Every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit." This seed, however, need to be nurtured. It takes rigorous self discipline to convert the sadness and pain caused by the adversity into a fuel for positive change. If you want to get even with those who want to harm you, focus on yourself and be the best you can be. Success is the best revenge, if revenge is what you are looking for.

Adversity can give you purpose. Sorrow and pain caused by the adversity can give you a new sense of direction. Adversity can help you find real you. You can choose to use adversity to change your old mediocre ways of living and set yourself on a new path of abundance, success and power. Take a look at the example of Jewish people in recent decades. There are few parallels to the pain and sufferings of the Jewish people under Nazis’ during the World War II. They used that pain and suffering to fuel their commitment to their empowerment. Steven Peas, author of “The Golden Age of Jewish Achievement”, chronicles an amazing history of Jewish achievement and contribution to the civilization in modern times. Jews are only .00207 percent of the World's population, but look at their percentage in various high achiever groups;

• 23% of the total Noble laureates
• 38% of the leading philanthropists
• 24% of Fortune's 25 most powerful people in business
• 37% Academy Award winning directors
• 51% Pulitzer Prize for non fiction
• 20% NBA top 10 coaches of all time
• 21% of enrollment in ivy league schools
• And the list goes on…

Whether you agree with the political side of the things or not, there is no denying that this is a group of high achievers. They managed to find strength in their adversity.

Here is an interesting story for you;

“One day a farmer's donkey fell into a well. The farmer frantically thought what to do as the stricken animal cried out to be rescued. With no obvious solution, the farmer regretfully concluded that as the donkey was old, and as the well needed to be filled in anyway, he should give up the idea of rescuing the beast, and simply fill in the well. Hopefully the poor animal would not suffer too much, he tried to persuade himself.

The farmer asked his neighbors help, and before long they all began to shovel earth quickly into the well. When the donkey realized what was happening he wailed and struggled, but then, to everyone's relief, the noise stopped.

After a while the farmer looked down into the well and was astonished by what he saw. The donkey was still alive, and progressing towards the top of the well. The donkey had discovered that by shaking off the dirt instead of letting it cover him, he could keep stepping on top of the earth as the level rose. Soon the donkey was able to step up over the edge of the well, and he happily trotted off."

Life is going to throw dirt at you, don’t let it overwhelm you; learn to use it to your advantage. Bad things do happen to good people. So the real question you need to ask yourself is, “Now that it has happened to me, how can I use my sorrow and pain to my advantage and be the best and most successful person I can be?” Remember success is the best revenge!