The Ultimate Investment

Life is full of obstacles.  When you run into an obstacle, do one of three things:  break through it, go around it, or change the conditions under which the obstacle exists. 

First, try to break through.  In doing this, remember it takes time.  Don’t be discouraged or give up when things don’t happen as fast as you’d like.   

Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan, was constantly rejected before his creation became a cult icon of a generation.  Many publishers turned him away before he finally sold a serialized version of his first novel, A Princess of Mars, to a low-class pulp magazine.  It met with great popularity, but still he had a long struggle, trying to break into the “regular” publishing industry. Persistence was in his favor.  As long as he didn’t give up, the obstacle could be broken through.  And it was.  His books began to sell thousands, tens of thousands, and finally millions. 

Occasionally you’ll run into an obstacle for which you can’t find a way to break through.  In this case, look for a way around.  If you don’t have the answers you need, then don’t sit around, go find them.  There are qualified experts of every sort available for the asking.  If you know your problem, then you also know who might have an answer.  Make a list of possible people to ask then start down the list.  Don’t hesitate. If you don’t have the money to pay the experts for their advice, then go to a place where you can consult experts on any field you care to name for free.  It’s called a Library.

One caution, however.  Be sure the people you call on have real expertise in the area you seek.  What would happen if Edgar Rice Burroughs had hired a group of highly skilled brick layers to help him get published?  I know that sounds silly, but people often do something just as silly.  When they run into an obstacle they turn to someone — usually a friend or sometimes even a complete stranger — who has no more knowledge on getting around that obstacle than they do.  If you turn to others, go to someone who knows the area in which the solution is to be found.

Finally, if you can’t break through or go around an obstacle, consider changing the conditions under which the obstacle exists. You may have heard the saying, ‘Starve problems and feed opportunities.’  Look at the obstacle and see if you can’t switch it into an opportunity.

Barry had just started a landscaping business and was struggling to find clients in a small market.  He caught wind of a possible job other landscapers had turned down.  Groundwater had started seeping up under foundations of homes in a subdivision.  The job would be very difficult and messy to correct.  Barry looked at the problem and saw the seeds of opportunity.  He could specialize in ground water remediation and get all the business he could handle with virtually no competition. 

He did.