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A friend of mine is in a spot. It is hard to know what to say in response to his request for a suggestion.
What kind of spot depends on one’s point of view. The outside observer could fairly say he is about to go under. It may be he is in the best possible place he could be. But it is crucial that this spot is used as a crossroads from which to take some different direction than he has previously taken.
A bad spot is not necessarily a bad thing. It is a sign of maturity. Every person and every organization comes to a place where they are faced with the choice of rolling over and dying, or fighting their way out. Life-or-death struggles appear in numerous ways for all of us and for every organization. These struggles create the determination to succeed. Sometimes, too, the struggle is what creates a new definition of success.
Anytime an individual faces a life-or-death struggle, one can count on the disappearance of fair weather friends. One is in the middle of a storm, and fair weather friends don’t like storms.
The stormy time is when one figures out who one’s friends are. It is tempting to cry about the loss of fair weather friends, but it’s far more useful to look around and take stock of who’s still standing by.
The stormy time is when one learns how to trust one’s inner lights, and one learns to trust oneself. But it’s probably fair to say that one cannot learn to trust these inner strengths until one has lost all hope of outside help and guidance.
Individuals usually learn some form of prayer in these times. Organizations learn about leadership, or lack thereof.
When things are going well, more time is spent being concerned with appearances than substance. But when it gets down to cases, substance is what will matter. Substance is that inner something that will create the success in a situation. Fighting one’s way out usually doesn’t take appearances into account. And there’s something stirring about seeing a man or organization emerge battered but still standing.
This situation reminds me of several examples I’ve read about in Mr. Lincoln’s biography where a given General is told by an orderly: “Sir, we’re surrounded, and they want us to surrender. What do we do?”
Some Generals respond: “Load your weapons, boys, and we’ll cut our way out of this mess.” And against all odds, the determination to succeed creates some special-something that allows the success to happen. The special-something is a self-fulfilling prophecy for one who listens close to one’s inner voice.
It’s no answer to simply say: “Hang in there.” But sometimes, hanging in there is the most important thing a person can do. And when one gets the chance to move forward — even by a little bit — one needs to take advantage of that chance, and move as best one can. The moving-ahead is what matters.
(Editor’s Note: Write David Clark at P.O. Box 148, Cochran, GA 31014, or dclark@outofthesky.com.)
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