The solution is in the problem

Don’t despair when you are faced with a question that seems to have no answer. There is a way out, you just have to start looking at the crisis itself.

When Alton Bell was a freshman at Southern Illinois University, he enrolled in a math course that proved to be tougher than he expected. Two days before a major exam on “plane trigonometry,” he faced another pressure point. On the same day of the math exam he also had a 2,000-word original essay due for English Composition 101.

Alton had a flash of inspiration. He immediately began to write the English paper on the topic: “Plane Trigonometry Made Plain.” In the simplest language possible he explained how astronomers, navigators and surveyors use ratios to compute the relations between the sides of a right triangle. Even Alton could understand it! He got an “A” on the theme and a “B” on the test.

His dilemma in math became his answer for writing. Even better, it was his solution for math, too.

The problem may be your solution.

The fact is, behind the seemingly overwhelming circumstance lies an opportunity waiting to be explored. Consider the following:

Great talents overcome great problems

• One of the great masterpieces of classical music is Handel’s Messiah. Individuals have marveled at its beauty for nearly 250 years. And yet Handel composed his masterpiece five years after he suffered a life-threatening heart attack.

• Pablo Picasso didn’t have health problems, but early in his career he had serious money problems. When he was a young, unknown painter struggling to make ends meet, he was often forced to burn his own paintings in the fireplace in order to keep warm.

• Mozart struggled to make ends meet early in his career, also. At one point he was so poor he couldn’t even afford to buy wood to heat the shabby little room where he lived. During the winter he wrapped his hands in woolen socks as he composed the music that would make him great. His early years of poverty weakened his immune system and made him especially susceptible to diseases, and as a result, he caught tuberculosis and died before his 36th birthday.

We’ve all failed many times! We all fell down when we first walked. We all nearly drowned when we first tried to swim. We all have fallen off the bike the first time without training wheels. We have all mispronounced words that we were learning for the first time — and sometimes we still do.

Did you know that R. H. Macy failed seven times before his first department store became a success? And now anybody who has visited New York would marvel at the sign that says Macy’s – The world’s largest department store.

Did you know that English novelist John Creasey received 753 rejection slips before he published the first of his 564 books? And did you know that baseball legend Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times along the way to hitting 714 runs?

The concern shouldn’t be for failure. The concern should be for the opportunities missed when we don’t try. Just as an athlete trains to improve his level of performance, the walls of adversity that we confront provide training for life.

The game is not over. What may seem to be a failure now might just be a victory in disguise. Don’t give up.

In the eyes of the world, when Jesus was hanging on the Cross he looked like a failure yet the Resurrection three days later, proved otherwise.

Don’t give up.

The game is not over yet.

(Attend this whole day conference “Live Full. Die Empty – Unleashing Your Best Work Everyday featuring bestselling author and productivity expert Todd Henry, successful executive Vic Gregorio, brilliant chief creative officer Merlee Jayme and Francis Kong talk about passion, productivity and purpose on Nov. 9 at Samsung Hall, SM Aura. For registration or inquiries contact April at +63928-559-1798)