Success: Forget "taking lemons and making lemonade"…

Step it up and make yourself a fab-tastic lemontini! J.K. Rowling did just this when life gave her a bunch of lemons. You know the kind of lemons I’m talking about. They are bruised, covered in dirt and mildew, graced with the proboscis of a dirty insect-yuck and ugh! Rowling was all too familiar with this rock-bottom time in her life but she realized the gifts she had in front of her: a wonderful daughter, an old typewriter, and an idea that would rebuild and transform her life. Do the words “Harry Potter” ring a bell?
In her talk to a room full of Harvard graduates last June Rowling said that it is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default. She went on to say that you will never really know yourself and the strengths of your relationships until both have been tested by adversity. This knowledge is a true gift because its painfully won. Rowling explained that this knowledge she learned during her trail of adversity was worth more to her than any qualification she had ever earned.
“Painfully won” – yep, that about sums it up! Notice that the word “painful” is preceded by “won”…so. very. true. It ain’t no cake walk, but it’s damn good cake once its finished. Wait, did that make sense? You get my drift. To tag onto Rowling’s point, I believe choice and what “choice” is based on (fear, doubt, complacency, etc.) has a lot to do with tackling adversity. We are all going to fail or have something unfair happen to us at one point in our lives. We also have a choice about how to handle it and learn from it. We can choose fear and victimhood or we can choose ass-kicking boots and big-girl panties. Choosing the latter eventually gives us that knowledge that Rowling said she so dearly cherishes…
Statement to self: When faced with failure and adversity, I choose the ass-kicking boots. How will I climb back up the mountain? One stiletto at a time.