The boulder along the road

There is an old story about a king whose people had grown soft and entitled. Dissatisfied with this state of affairs, he hoped to teach them a lesson. His plan was simple: He would place a large boulder in the middle of the main road, completely blocking entry into the city. He would then hide nearby and observe their reactions.

How would they respond? Would they band together to remove it? Or would they get discouraged, quit and return home?

With growing disappointment, the king watched as subject after subject came to this impediment and turned away. Or, at best, tried halfheartedly before giving up. Many openly complained or cursed the king or fortune or bemoaned the inconvenience, but none managed to do anything about it.

After several days, a lone peasant came along on his way into town. He did not turn away. Instead he strained and strained, trying to push it out of the way. Then an idea came to him: He scrambled into the nearby woods to find something he could use for leverage. Finally, he returned with a large branch he had crafted into a lever and deployed it to dislodge the massive rock from the road.

Beneath the rock were a purse of gold coins and a note from the king, which said:

“The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.”

I am now a fan of Ryan Holiday and this story I shared comes from his book entitled: “The Obstacle is the Path.”

You and I are always underdogs in different ways. I am first generation entrepreneur. I never had parents who were in business who handed me their enterprise and allows me the privilege of receiving an inheritance.

I have friends who did not finish high school as they had to work and provide for their family because their parents could not or were not around to provide the privilege. We all have stories to tell.

Some people just live the rest of their lives telling and retelling their sad tales and they never got out of the muck. This is not a good thing. So much energy is wasted on sob stories when the same energy could be channeled towards worthier endeavor.

Others see a looming challenge ahead of them. And rather than going through it, they reason themselves out of it or want to get around it and all these futile efforts does not bring in any favorable advantages.

What about you? What is holding you back? You are new on the job? You are now promoted to a leadership position and you have to lead people who are twice your age and thrice your years of work experience? Maybe you have a disability? Short on money? A failed marriage or a failed business?  You think you are now too old to get a job? Are you now feeling sorry for yourself?

Obstacles continuously come and no one in his sane mind could ever deny this. And this is where getting out of the muck and studying the lives of those who had been there can inspire us to make a U-turn, change gear and start living lives differently.

Many of the obstacle-ridden people gave up but a few of them did not. They WENT THROUGH the obstacle. They owned the situation. They learned more about the situation and figured out how they will use it to their advantage and conquered their insecurities.

Many of these people have suffered losses but they did not lose the lessons and because of it they become stronger and wiser. Sure, they got kicked around a bit but they do not give up because they know that once the obstacle is flipped then the opportunities present themselves.

Want to quit your job because you cannot stand your boss? Now that is an obstacle isn’t it?

Here is the reality. There is a higher probability that you will end up in a job and have another boss worse than your former one. And do you know why? Because you have not learned how to conquer your first obstacle and by running away, you just mastered the art of escape and weaken your resolve to endure and to learn.

Your marriage is on the rocks? That is another obstacle isn’t it? Now you can drown away your misery by celebrating Happy Hour or you could be determined to humble yourself and work on your marriage for the sake of your family.

We need to go through the obstacle and face adversity because the flip side of it is growth and opportunity.

The next time you feel like quitting, look for boulders along the road.

(Connect with Francis Kong in www.facebook.com/franciskong2 or listen to “Business Matters” Monday to Friday at 8:00 AM and 6:30 PM over 98.7 dzFE-FM “The Master’s Touch,” the classical music station.)