When I was fresh out of college I used to joke with family and friends that I was "too normal" to be successful. It seems everywhere we look, people who have achieved a high-level of success, have a story about overcoming odds to get there. The Adversity Paradox is a new book that helps you tap into different situations and use them to build a road towards business success.

The Adversity Paradox: The phenomenon of building outstanding success upon the lessons learned in overcoming serious difficulty or misfortune.

The basis of the book is built around Individual Human Capital. Basically these are skills that you possess, that with investment, can produce future positive outputs. The AP suggests you take an inventory of yourself and ask which of the following you are strong or weak in:

Introspection
Values Behavior
Work Character
Purpose & Passion
Thirst for Knowledge

You have control over how you feel and deal with adversity.

A piece of unique advice in the book I had never thought off is "physical work ethic." We're talking about taking care of your body so you have the energy and stamina to work hard. Whether it's sending e-mails at 6am or staying late for meetings, if you're not physically up to the task, you are at a disadvantage from the start.

We all have a back story that helps lay the foundation for how well we operate in the business world and manage our careers. The Adversity Paradox helps you take the hardships you’ve faced and make them your friends in the business world. After all, we all know there's always more to learn from failure then success.


Oh, by the way, I'm no longer "too normal" for success. In fact, at the rate I'm going, fame and fortune should be right around the corner.

Buy The Adversity Paradox here.