How To Use The Power Of Adaptability To Build A Magnificent Life

‘The most important factor in survival is neither intelligence nor strength, but adaptability.’ Charles Darwin

I will never claim to be the smartest or strongest, because I’m not, and never have been.

But one of the skills that I have learned to use to my advantage has been adaptability.

1. I learned to swerve

When it came to any kind of foot race at school I was always last. The facts were that I was never built for speed.

However, when I took up soccer as my chosen sport I soon discovered that to be fast was not necessarily a skill I needed to have in order to succeed in this sport.

By simply developing good ball handling skills and learning how to swerve while avoiding other players, it wasn’t long before I was one of the top goal scorers for my team.

This later led me to play for a a representative squad that won its competition.

All because I had learned to be adaptable.

2. I learned to study

Until I was in my second year of high school I was your average student. I got by with very little effort expended. I landed in the ‘B’ class in my first year, but received a wake up call when I slipped into the ‘C’ classes in my second year.

That’s when I learned to study. I studied so hard that year that I eventually topped my year in my math’s class ahead of more than 200 other students. Because of this adaptability I remained in the ‘A’ classes for all my subjects for the rest of my time spent at high school.

3. I learned to write

Spelling and English were never my strongest subjects. But it was what happened outside of school hours that made the difference. At the age of 14 an adult friend handed me some lyrics and asked me to add a melody to it. I had played the piano since the age of 6, but had never written a song. His belief in me helped me to create my first masterpiece.

That led, over the next ten years, to the creation of hundreds of songs – music and lyrics – and even to a number of professional recordings.

This process of writing then led on to the writing of articles for magazines and newsletters and ultimately my own books – where I self published and sold my first book production for a sum of in excess of $100,000.

4. I learned to be in business

I knew for some time that I was to be an entrepreneur. However, I settled for the security of a job until the day came that they retrenched me. That was the day that I declared to my family that I would never again put my life into the hands of another man.

I looked around me to see what I could do – and with a mop, a bucket, a vacuum cleaner, and a bunch of advertising leaflets I started a cleaning business.

Within a few weeks I was making more from this business than I had ever earned working for another man. I owned that business for three years before selling it at a profit to a friend. Since then I have owned and still own successful businesses in the publishing, web design and hairdressing industries.

5. I learned to blog

Now that brings me to blogging. Why blogging?

Well I had written material in a blog for some time, just for the fun of it, but just over 6 months ago I decided to get serious about creating a successful and influential personal development blog, and this is what I have achieved to this point….

• I have received a mention in The New York Times.
• I hired a blogging coach.
• I have written guest articles for significant blogs in my industry and even in other industries.
• I have created two eBooks entitled ‘ Discovering The You in Unique’ and ‘Personal Success Blueprint’.
• I have conducted written and skype interviews with other bloggers.
• I have created my first online course called ‘Self Development Mastermind’ that is presented in video, audio and text format.
• I have released my Daily Motivational Memo, which combines one of my original quotes plus 100 original words that expand on that quote.
• I have watched my subscription base increase by more than 1500% in that time frame.

From all of these experiences I have learned to be adaptable.

The beauty of this adaptability is that if you have developed this skill there is nothing that you cannot do.