01 Jun Life Lessons on How To Overcome Adversity

When faced with your own mortality, how do you respond? That is a question millions face when diagnosed with cancer. Why me? Every challenge that confronts life is an exercise in resilience and character. Through this experience, we learn to overcome adversity and draw from the strength deep inside us. As hard as it may seem, it is important to recognize adversity as an opportunity for wisdom and growth.

In 2014, I was at the top of my game professionally and personally.  As a two-star Admiral, I served as the Director of Intelligence for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and had recently completed the Honolulu Marathon. Life was good. Then shocked and dismayed, I was diagnosed with Stage IV Bone Marrow Cancer. I spent most of 2015 in and out the hospital, undergoing several life-saving surgeries, procedures, high dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant.  Thank God, I’m now in a stable remission.

What did I learn along the way that can be applied to a cancer patient or anyone who must overcome adversity?  

1. Tenacity is a key to success. What defines us in crisis is how tenaciously we get back up after we’ve been knocked down. Despite setbacks, every one of us has the capacity to heal, overcome and lead lives that are amazingly impactful.
2. Develop New Teammates. Medical travails offer incredible opportunities to work with passionate, intelligent, devoted caregivers and administrators.  In addition to one’s core family and friends, new positive relationships with medical professionals are amazing recovery force multipliers.
3. Lead A Purposeful Life. Do things to make the world better in ways that only you can … that’s the greatest revenge against cancer or any other extreme obstacle.

My motivational keynote presentations focus on teamwork, tone, and tenacity. These leadership principles provide a framework to overcome adversity. It is inevitable that unexpected challenges will come your way and the best defense is to be ready and trained on how to handle them.

To learn more on how to overcome adversity, build character, and lead a purpose-driven life, visit: The Becker T3 Group.

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Paul Becker inspires leaders and organizations on how to overcome adversity and achieve their maximum achievement through “Teamwork, Tone, Tenacity.”™ A motivational keynote speaker and author, Paul draws on decades of experience successfully leading, large, diverse teams in complex and unpredictable situations.  His “T3” principles provide a framework for turning tragedy into triumph when faced with the unexpected and directly translate into corporate pillars of performance, productivity, and profit.