Daily Inspiration: “Behind every setback is an opportunity!”

“Behind every setback is an opportunity!” – Futurist Jim Carroll

A good friend of mine finds himself in ‘new career circumstances,’ which is another way of saying that he is actively looking for new work!

In talking about how to move forward, my focus was, as it is with everything — how to be relentlessly focused on the opportunity that the change might bring, and the new innovative ways that might be pursued to discover those opportunities.

Many people, when faced with a challenging setback, become too focused on the downside, and not on the upside. That puts them in a frame of mind which can cloud their initiative, thinking, and imagination. The most important thing to do when faced with a negative circumstance is to turn the thought around – to get into the right frame of mind.

Tripe, trivial guidance? Not at all! Once we got the mind shift going, it was pretty obvious that he was starting to get enthusiastic, with some ideas and initiative bubbling through the top and cutting through the surface of negativity.

I regularly take this storyline on stage when talking about the future — here’s a clip from a keynote for 7,000 in Las Vegas, where I am asking them: Do you view the future as an opportunity or a threat?