Doing Well in Difficult Times

My apologies, but the title is a teaser. In reality, very few honest, hardworking people do well in difficult times. Problems, both personal and professional, seem to abound when times are tough and its easy to get discouraged and think that there is nothing you can do, that the situation is just too overwhelming.

When I feel this way, I recall the words of General Hal Moore, U.S. Army, who led troops in one of the defining battles of the Viet Nam war where he was outnumbered 10 to 1 by the best prepared force the North Vietnamese ever fielded in battle. He chronicles this in his book, "We were Soldiers Once....and Young". The book was made into a movie of the same name and then- Colonel Moore was played by Mel Gibson.

The lesson that General Moore draws from the almost impossible situation that he faced is: "No matter how desperate the situation, there is always one more thing you can do to increase your odds of success.". He repeats it in the youtube video shown below.

http://www.pokerleadership.com/video_leadership_hal_moore.html

What do I take away from this? Success is measured in small steps and each matters. Our own actions, everyday, can improve our situation. Looking for a job? Call one more person. Difficult business issue? Figure out one action you can take to improve the situation, and then think of another.

Equally importantly, this attitude doesn't have to be limited to you own personal situation. Want to make a difference in the world? You don't have to wait till you are elected President. Every positive action that you take increases the amount of good in the world. Serve dinner to a homeless person, deliver Meals on Wheels. Every time you do there is one less hungry person in the world, and over a lifetime this adds up. My friends are probably tired of hearing me say that if you walk two miles a day its equivalent (in caloric burn) to running 28 marathons a year. You can do enormous good by making a little bit of difference every day. If a group of people committed to success in whatever they are pursuing make this commitment, there is no limit to what they can achieve. You may not do well in difficult times, but you can do a lot of good.