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INTRODUCTION

What if, as a result of completing this book, you could use any, and I meanany, adversity to your advantage? What if you could convert your everyday struggles, big and small, into the kind of fuel that powers you past everyday normality to everyday greatness?

Isn't there something incredibly riveting about the human struggle with adversity? Not only is it the central strand of our story, shared across eras and cultures, but we also read about it in all the great books, are spellbound by it in popular movies, and wrestle with it in our own lives every day. Why adversity?

Maybe it's because within that struggle lies the essential wisdom we all need to become the kind of person we hope to be, or to nurture the kind of team or organization we envision. In fact, after spending the past few years working on this book, I'm convinced that adversity holds the key to achieving everyday greatness in life, business, and society.

We don't have to go looking for adversity. It tends to find us. During the summer between eighth and ninth grades, I began losing the last traces of my sight. I could no longer see enough to walk around by myself, so my brothers and parents had to lead me. I'd reach out for their shirtsleeves with the terror of a small child being left behind in a department store. I hated what was happening because it represented utter helplessness. Everything I knew was ending. The loss was like a storm descending on me with such force, such viciousness, that I thought I'd be crushed by it.

Late that fall, I was watching a TV show calledThat's Incredible. I could still see a little out of one eye, though I had to crane forward to just a few inches away from the set. Being featured that night was an athlete named Terry Fox. Terry had lost a leg to cancer, and when not yet discharged from the hospital, made a decision to run across Canada from east to west. With my nose pressed up against the screen and with tears pouring down my face, I watched Terry run. The miles took a tremendous toll on his amputated leg and its primitive prosthetic. He hobbled along mile after mile, fighting the pain of blisters and raw skin, often using a pair of crutches to propel his body forward.

What struck me most was the look on his face. It was a look of extreme contradiction: full of exhaustion yet radiant with exaltation. In his thin face was the trace flicker of an intense internal light that burned power into his struggling frame. The image filled my sagging spirit and gave me a feeling of utter courage. Many would have retreated from such hardship, but -- surprisingly -- Terry faced it head-on and literally ran into its midst. It was while staring into Terry's face that I first wondered how we could harness that great storm of adversity swirling around us and use its power to make ourselves stronger and better.

Although I was inspired by Terry, I learned early on that inspiration is not enough. If a person embarks on a mountain expedition unprepared and unequipped, the fierce wind, the frigid cold, the steep and technical terrain will do him in every time. Likewise, in order to consistently convert everyday adversity, big and small, into genuine advantage in our lives and enterprises we need some powerful and proven tools. And no one is better qualified to teach us about those tools than the guy I teamed up with to write this book, Dr. Paul Stoltz.

Paul is perhaps best-known for hisAdversity Quotient, or AQ, theory, which has become the most widely adopted method in the world for measuring and strengthening our capacity to deal with adversity. Decoding the human relationship with adversity has been and continues to be Paul's lifework.

It was through Paul's groundbreaking research that we met. His focus on people who harness life's tough stuff led him to launch the Global Resilience Project, an effort now involving studies in twenty-one countries. His quest was to gain a better understanding of those rare people, like Terry, who don't just deal well with adversity but learn to convert it into fuel, to achieve everyday greatness.

You might remember, from your history textbooks, those medieval alchemists who toiled mysteriously to turn lead into gold. I call the people like Terry, the people Paul has highlighted in his research, modern-day alchemists. I believe that inside each of us is something I can only describe as a light, which has the capacity to feed on adversity, to consume it like fuel. When we tap into that light, every frustration, every setback, every obstacle becomes a source to power our lives forward. The greater the challenge, the brighter the light burns. Through it, we become more focused, more creative, and more driven, and can even learn to transcend our own perceived limitations to bring our lives more meaning.

All of us can be alchemists, taking the lead that life piles on top of us and finding ways to transform it into gold. I strive to be an alchemist every day. I climbed the Seven Summits -- the tallest peaks on each of the seven continents -- not only because I love to climb but also to shatter people's perceptions of what's possible. And somewhere along the way, I learned more about the advantages of adversity than I ever imagined I would.

There is something inherently compelling about an ascent. I believe that deep inside us, we all strive to move forward and up, to scale new heights. Paul and I have, therefore, organized this book into Seven Summits, based on seven guiding principles that will help you use adversities to your advantage, as a way to infuse some practical greatness into your daily life. I begin each Summit -- each chapter -- with a story from one of the seven actual summits that I climbed. In between, Paul draws from my lessons and his worldwide research to teach you how you can generate power from your everyday struggles, elevating you and everyone you touch.

By "everyone," Erik and I hope you include the people you interact with through your work, your community, your family, and more. This is because the ripple effect -- both positive and negative -- of how you relate to adversity extends out to all whom you influence, including many who are unaware of your impact. That's the potential power ofThe Adversity Advantage, and it's why Erik and I love the wordelevate. To elevate means to "raise to a higher level or position," or to "raise one's mind or spirit to a more enlightened or exalted level." And when you really come down to it, isn't that what you want to do with your life, what every parent hopes to do for a child, what every leader ultimately wants to do for his or her organization?

You might be thinking that any sensible person seeks less adversity, not more. Right? Here's the problem. While you can certainly have an enjoyable life, you cannot reach beyond pleasure to even the most basic level of greatness without a healthy dose of the very thing most people seek to diminish. Why? Because adversity alone has the unique power to inspire exceptional clarity, purge any vestiges of lethargy, refocus your priorities, hone your character, and unleash your most potent forces. Even minor setbacks provide fertile soil for elevating behavior. If you eliminate adversity, you miss out on life's deepest riches, highest gifts, and most potent lessons. The more adversity you escape, the less you become.

In my first books introducing the Adversity Quotient (AQ), I talk in depth aboutQuitters, Campers, andClimbers-- the three categories of response to the daunting challenge of leading an ever-elevating life. Quitters simply give up on the ascent -- the pursuit of an enriching life -- and as a result are often embittered. Campers generally work hard, apply themselves, pay their dues, and do what it takes to reach a certain level. Then they plant their tent stakes and settle for their current elevation. Climbers are the rare breed who continue to learn, grow, strive, and improve until their final breath, who look back on life and say these precious words: "I gave it my all." It's no coincidence that Climbers are the people we most admire, are drawn to, and seek to become. One of the major discoveries of my research is that at the heart of the difference between Climbers and Campers or Quitters lies what they do with adversity.

Relentlessly pursuing a life or building an organization rich in purpose can be tough. The weather on the mountain is rough -- and intensifying. That's why Quitters abandon the ascent and Campers hunker down. Only Climbers take on the immensely gratifying challenge of learning, striving, improving, and contributing until their final breath.

According to our poll of more than 150,000 leaders across all industries worldwide, many people quit (5 to 20 percent), most camp (65 to 90 percent), and a rare few climb. In fact, when leaders are asked, "What percentage of your workforce is camping?" the most common response is "80 percent."

This is atragicloss of potential, at a time when camping is increasingly costly, and the benefits of climbing are particularly rich. But my previous books stopped short of explaining something powerfully distinct about Climbers. I have discovered that the people with the highest AQs don't simply respond more effectively to adversity. Whether they are driving a new business model, forging an exceptional team, or simply finding ways to accelerate their own development, theyuseadversity. And in this process, they unleash tremendous energy and innovation, and gain momentum. This book will teach you how to use your adversities to unleash your personal best.

We learn from those who shatter our notions of what's possible. The extremes of the space program created countless practical products for everyday use back on earth; and in just the same way, through extreme examples of what people can do with adversity we learn practical ways to dramatically improve what we do with our own.

My research led me to Erik Weihenmayer because he is a Climber in the truest sense of the word. He attacks life as he attacks a rock face -- with a relentless determination to elevate himself and everyone around him, whether through his stirring narratives as a keynote speaker, his groundbreaking and highly visible adventures, or his outreach to marginalized people throughout the world. Climbers strive to improve themselves and their worlds. With regard to anything that matters, phrases likealmost, at least we tried, orthere's no wayare outside Erik's vocabulary. The words that are true to his character aremore, better, smarter, faster, richer, andhigher. Such words define him, pouring out like warm breath on an icy morning.

In short, Erik is the living embodiment of every lesson offered in this book. And, while we will provide many everyday examples, Erik is the true exemplar ofThe Adversity Advantage. In this book, I will help decode Erik's emotional DNA so that you can infuse his inner tenacity and greatness into your own life. Erik will provide you with his best terrain-tested wisdom and insights, using spellbinding stories to help you fundamentally rethink and retool your relationship with adversity.

The good news is that after teaching people about the power of adversity in business and in life for the past twenty-two years, I know that everyone can learn the practical tools for harnessing adversity as a vital life force. The new principles and practices offered in this book are crafted not for superheroes or impossible extremes. They are devised for us normal folks, for you and for me, so that we can begin to achieve everyday greatness in our own day-to-day lives.

In Summit One -- Take It On! -- we will define in a simple, practical way the adversities you face. You will learn how you, those around you, and even your organization cantake it on-- get past the frustration, helplessness, anger, and even acceptance of adversity and reach the point where you can embrace and benefit from its force. You'll learn why you are better equipped for the big adversities than you are for the everyday onslaught of energy-draining annoyances, hassles, difficulties, and challenges. You will begin to get a sense of how adversity can be both the ultimate competitive weapon for a business and the ultimate fuel for a life. You will learn where you currently reside on the Adversity Continuum -- the ultimate gauge of your relationship with life's tough stuff -- so you can begin your journey to higher, more elevating levels. You will complete your own Adversity Inventory, and emerge with a clearly defined Summit Challenge.

Summit Two -- Summon Your Strengths -- challenges the conventional wisdom that natural strengths are the driving force of success. This chapter will help you decide what you want to do, why you want to do it, and what strengths you need to tap, grow, and gain from others to achieve your Summit Challenge. You will develop your Adversity Strengths through the powerful combination of courage, discipline, tenacity, and desire. You will break through your notions of what you and others can or should attempt to do. You will rethink how you team up with others in business and in life.

In Summit Three -- Engage Your CORE -- you'll learn how to handle every adversity better and faster. You will gain vital insight into your lens on life, as well as the foundations of AQ and the four CORE dimensions that determine how people respond to adversity. You will learn how the greatest organizations and leaders in the world engage their CORE. And you will devise your own personal CORE Strategy for moving forward along the Adversity Continuum to begin turning specific adversities into real advantage.

In Summit Four -- Pioneer Possibilities -- you will learn how to devise signature systems for making the impossible possible. You will create strategies that others simply fail to see. Learn how you and your organization can gain tremendous traction and momentum through the force of adversity. You will rethink how you approach limitations, as well as expand your perception of what's possible. You will learn to apply "possibility pioneering" tools to shift from "what now?" to "what if?"

As you climb higher to Summit Five -- Pack Light, Pack Right -- you will learn from Erik's vivid world of climbing how packing poorly will cripple you but how carefully choosing the right things, people, obligations, and pursuits will strengthen you. The more weighed down you are, or your organization is, the less agile and effective you are when attacking adversity. Kill agility, and you suffocate alchemy. In this chapter you will gain the clarity to spring-clean your life so you can rise up, rather than crumble under the weight of each new adversity.

No matter how fortunate you may be, you will eventually be given the opportunity to suffer. So the question is whether you will suffer poorly or well. This is the subject of Summit Six -- Suffer Well. Adversity alchemists have the amazing capacity to suffer well -- to elevate those around them through their own losses and hardships. They turn pain into beauty. Suffering can be tragic, debilitating, and stultifying, or it can be high-octane fuel for accelerated alchemy. Potent reactions usually involve heat. That's why character is forged in the flames of adversity. Done right, suffering can fuel greatness.

Summit Seven -- Deliver Greatness, Every Day -- is the culmination of the preceding six summits. It brings together the most important ideas from the entire book, providing a coherent, portable package of practices you can take with you and apply anywhere, anytime, so that you can rise to the very top of the Adversity Continuum. You will depart with your own Adversity Advantage Climbing Route, able to perform your own alchemy. Life's lead becomes gold, darkness becomes light, and normality turns into greatness. And you will emerge poised, if not anxious, for the advantage you will gain from each new adversity.

THE MOUNTAIN AS METAPHOR

Erik and I have chosen the mountain as our metaphor, not to represent a testosterone-induced, tackle-the-summit athletic feat, but as a universal symbol of inspiration and aspiration. People share a drive to ascend -- to move forward and up in our lives; to gain, rather than lose, elevation. Don't worry. You certainly don't have to be a climber or an athlete to relate to all this. While Erik's stories from the world's top peaks may sound impossibly daunting, the lessons within those stories link quite practically to the more normal, often involuntary challenges and hardships we all face in the course of our various endeavors.

To be blunt, adversity is utterly heartless. It could not care less whether we succeed or fail. It doesn't care about our human definition of fairness or justice, and it would just as soon crush us as propel us through its gauntlet. Like a gale-force wind, it can do serious damage. Or, if harnessed, it can take you farther than you could otherwise go. The exciting news is that no matter how mundane or irritating your hassles may be, they can be used for dramatic gains. And it all begins with the first Summit, when you turn into the storm and take it on!

Excerpted from The Adversity Advantage: Turning Everyday Struggles into Everyday Greatness by Erik Weihenmayer, Paul G. Stoltz
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Foreword	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Take It On!	p. 11
Summon Your Strengths	p. 54
Engage Your Core	p. 95
Pioneer Possibilities	p. 127
Pack Light, Pack Right	p. 156
Suffer Well	p. 204
Deliver Greatness, Every Day	p. 246
Notes	p. 273
Acknowledgments	p. 275
Index	p. 277
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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The Adversity Advantage; Turning Everyday Struggles into Everyday Greatness

0743290232

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