To the tune of Pitbull’s “Fireball” or whatever gets you grooving, consider a time you stepped away from a negative and freestyled into problem-solving.
One of my most memorable “dances” was the day I received a large shipment of new books that I had labored over for months. I was so excited! But imagine my surprise when I pulled out the first copy and all the pages were upside down! Not the kind of book swag I was expecting.
A quick call to the printer confirmed an error. (Yeah, ya think?) I asked them to reprint it and let us keep the bad ones for free.
Why would I want a bunch of upside-down books? Because I shifted into problem-solving and making those books useful anyway. I had the printer cut off the spines, hole punch them, and put them into binders. We were later able to sell those products—and since we had kept them for free, this represented a pure profit for our company.
This experience infused me with three crucial traits:
• Resilience. Harness your inner strength and stay positive as you power through adversity. View problems as a valuable learning experience and celebrate the wins.
• Responsibility. Transform challenges into opportunity. Focusing on solutions, not mistakes, increases our motivation.
• Resourcefulness. If you find yourself suddenly dancing to a new tune, don’t panic. Give your mind time to regroup and tweak your steps as you work toward success.
Michelle Peña is the senior editor of Office Technology Today and Small Business Tax Strategies. You can also follow her on Instagram @michymashup and LinkedIn @michymash.
