Bouncing Back From Adversity

Posted at June 13, 2009

Personal Branding Series

You may spend years building your personal brand but see it evaporate overnight. What do you do in the morning? Do you pick up the pieces and start again or do you run for the mountains?

No matter how deep in hell you may be, if you look inside yourself, you will see that a hero lies in you. The strength of your character and your hunger to bounce back can help you overcome adversity. Many people give up on the first sign of trouble, but the art of bouncing back is what separates successes from failures.

Shapes that adversity may take

Some people say that when poverty comes through the door, love escapes through the window. Just like poverty, when adversity strikes through the door, self confidence, personal brand and respect may escape through the window.

The following are some of the forms and shapes of adversity.

1) Illness or Death

Adversity may be strike in the form of the grim reaper. Death is inevitable, however losing a close family member or friend can have devastating effects on a person. It causes all sorts of emotions and can inflict extreme pain. Death of a loved one can cause loneliness and depression.

Being diagnosed with a terminal disease can cause depression as well. It can cause fear that one will become a burden to their family and fail to provide or be there for their loved ones.

Overcoming the adversity of death or illness is not easy. Keeping a positive mental attitude can help you cope. Being diagnosed with a terminal disease such as HIV may be the end of life as you know it, but not the end of living, in absolute terms. One can still bounce back to living well, through proper medical care, exercise and eating right.

Dealing with the emotions of loss, loneliness and depression is not easy. You may want to seek professional counseling, or allow time for the pain to subside. Remember that life goes on and you need to bounce back to life even after bad news. It may not be easy but every effort counts.

2) Relationship Breakdown

Relationships are built over time and breaking up is difficult to say the least. You may have great hopes for a relationship, be it a personal or business relationship. If that does not work out, or there is betrayal involved, it can cause a lot of pain.

Betrayal is very painful for the person betrayed in a relationship. It is the violation of the mutually agreed-upon rules or boundaries of a relationship that leads to heartache, anger and resentment.

The break down of a relationship can cause loss of trust and confidence. It can result in loss of productivity and motivation in life. It can cause loneliness and regret.

Bouncing back from a relationship breakdown, while not easy, is vital. I wrote an article recently on 10 Powerful Strategies for Dealing with Heartache. Stay positive and be wise on the choice of your next relationship partner. Take time to heal and focus on other matters or people instead of dwelling on the broken relationship.

3) Loss of a job/income

You may be in a job today and at a jobless corner next week. The bills will not take a break. You may owe money on your credit cards. Being out of job can create a feeling of helplessness, not being able to help the people who depend on you or pay bills.

Job loss can be bruising to the ego. Many people build their personal brands around their jobs. One way of insulating yourself against the pressures of job loss is to maintain a balance in life. Have a strong identity that is not defined by your job. This will help protect your sanity and self esteem if you lose your job.

Having an active number of good contacts can help you in bouncing back. Your contacts can help you find another job or provide another avenue of generating an income. Being confident of your expertise and specialization can help you in bouncing back.

4) Business failure

You may invest a lot of money and time in developing a business. Then the environment changes because of competition, new trends or new legislation. It is very easy to feel like a failure. A business failure can mean loss of income and sliding into debt. Just like a job loss, it can bruise your ego. Other people may lose their jobs or income.

Having your own business is a source of pride for most people. Losing your business or having to shut down your doors stings at the core of a business owner. Fortunately for many business owners, they have a thick skin. They know how to bounce back.

Bouncing back may entail stepping back and looking at your reason for failure. Did you have weak systems? Were you a bad manager? Did you have problems with your cash flow? Was it a result of new competition or changes in the marketplace?

Whatever the reason for failure in business, do not let it paralyze you. Many successful businessmen and businesswomen have probably had it tougher than you. Reflect on your past success and failures and learn from them.

It takes time to jump start a failed venture. You may have to walk away, cut your loses and move on to something else. Do not repeat the same mistakes. Find a new angle to get back in the game. You can only win by getting back in the ring not by becoming a spectator.

An Example of Bouncing Back – Steve Jobs

Steven Paul Jobs (born February 24, 1955) is an American businessman and co-founder, and CEO of Apple Inc. Jobs is the former CEO of Pixar Animation Studios.

He co-founded Apple in his parents’ garage when he was 20. He worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just him and his partner in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees.

They had just released their finest creation – the Macintosh – a year earlier, and he had just turned 30. And then he got fired. How does one get fired from a company he started? Well, as Apple grew they hired someone to run the company, but their visions of the future began to diverge and eventually they had a falling out. The Board of Directors sided with the other guy. So at 30 Steve Jobs was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of his entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

It turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to him. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed him to enter one of the most creative periods of his life.

During the next five years, He started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, He returned to Apple, and the technology they developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance.

None of this would have happened if he hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was an awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.

If you ever fall from grace, or find yourself in a tough position, remember Steve Jobs. Do not lose faith. Live to fight another day. Let your personal brand bounce back.

Summary

Bouncing back from failure or adversity can determine how your personal brand is perceived. No matter how deep your losses may be, stay positive. Adversity is a part of life but how we deal with it is what makes the difference. Stay true to your mission in life and personal brand, even when the tide turns against you.

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