Adversity Breeds Opportunity (my #WEDOHARDSTUFF September debrief)

Posted onAuthorDavid Bradley

Adversity Breeds Opportunity

Adversity Breeds Opportunity

“Adversity breeds opportunity” was the mantra for September.  Another favorite quote of mine is “problems are opportunity.”  That one I learned from Grant Cardone.  It’s from a sales book and while there are obvious business connotations, this is also a major life lesson.  It would, even though it sounds contrary to what the majority of the populace would tell you, serve you better to actually seek out new problems and embrace adversity when it shows up.

Recently, an old injury reared it’s ugly head.  Plantar Fasciitis.  It’s on my right foot, mostly because I struggle with hip alignment issues on that side and secondly I’m pretty sure I got the wrong pair of shoes last time I upgraded.  That’s the nut shell.  No need to define the problem any more that that.  Let’s talk about what we’re doing about it and how this adversity and problem… is a massive opportunity.

The Adversity Breeds Opportunity RULES For September

I laid out some ground rules for myself – these are in the the order they popped into my head and not necessarily in any order of actual importance.

  1. Time ALL Work
  2. ALL Push Ups must be done in the rings
  3. Chair Dips:  Chair?  We don’t need no stinking chair!  Do dips!
  4. Worry about one thing only:  the task at hand
  5. Supplement/Incorporate Turkish Get Ups and Rowing Movement Patterns
  6. Proper form or the rep is a no-count
  7. Squat Jacks will be a diagnostic tool for hip/ankle flexibility and proper jumping mechanics
  8. Squats will be replaced with Barbarian Squats; Lunges with Dynamic Lunges (both w/ a 10lb Mace Bell)
  9. Broad Jumps will be replaced with Hardstyle Russian Kettlbell Swings (using 40kg Bell)

These rules allowed me to get the work loads in while taking care to not over stress, tax or strain the foot and at the same time strengthen and stretch the legs and posterior chain.  These 9 rules were a really good idea!

The Non-Physical #WeDoHardStuff Challenges

#ImSORRY:  Considering, that “adversity breeds opportunity” was the mantra, I used the #ImSorry challenge to apologize to a client who know longer uses our service.  We take 100% responsibility for the success of a client.  If my client didn’t win with my company’s product and support, it’s on me, nobody else.  So I called up a client who we failed and apologized.  We failed because he did not use the program enough to get the ROI.  I took full responsibility for their lack of use.  The opportunity is we are now in negotiations to partner back up.  Because my actions prompted him to duplicate and he too took responsibility for his part.  [NOTE:  If you try to do this in your world, you better be 10,000% fu#king genuine in your apology or you’ll looking like a manipulative a$$hole….  seriously.]

Here’s three more things from my #FU#KITLIST:

  1. Raise 1 million for my 3 favorite charities by holding The Xtra Mile Marathon
  2. Sell 50,000 copies of my book How To STOP Smoking Without Killing Anyone
  3. Have 50,000 subscribers to this blog

#CleanUp:  I live at the beach, so in addition to picking up trash around the house, I went down to the water and cleaned up down there too.

Adversity Breeds Opportunity #VirtualSwingAThon

Well, so with the foot acting up, trying to handle (a #VirtualMarathon) 26.2 miles over a 7 day period did not seem like the right action to take if I want to continue healing and releasing the tendons.  My solution?  What would be my caloric output if I did do that and then how can I duplicate that output without adding insult to injury!  Long story short and after some Googling and math, I settled on 250 Kettlebell Swings per day with a 32kg Kettlebell.

I tried to make it fun and did other work between sets and what I wound up with were some cool routines and workouts.  I am calling this, 7 Kettlebell Swing Workouts That Totally Suck and I will be writing it up and turning it into a pdf which I will be able to then use as a tool (total transparency) to get more subscribers to this blog.  “Subscribe to the blog and receive this free pdf, 7 Kettlebell Swing Workouts That Totally Suck.”

So that is now a work in progress and will be happening in the very near future.  For those of you reading this now, I’m happy to send you an advance copy of the rough draft as soon as it’s done.  Just subscribe to this blog and I’ll send out the rough draft next Friday.

Final Thoughts:

Well, Brother Malcolm pretty much summed it up here, “There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.”  In the UFC, I’ve heard countless fighters say, “you’re either winning or learning.”  In our sales training company, Grant Cardone says, “there is no failure until you quit.” And so it goes…  Adversity breeds opportunity.