Challenge equals Opportunity

Challenge equals opportunity…


I am amazed at the extent to which our lives have been altered of late.  It’s incomprehensible to me (and likely many others) how things have changed so dramatically worldwide. These are challenging times indeed!  These same hurdles should also be forcing us to think differently about our routines, our relationships, our business practices, pretty much everything we do.  If you’re like me, you’ve been spending most of your days indoors, on a phone or in front of a screen.  Communication with others has been difficult at best.  This challenge has become an opportunity for me to interface with my employees more often but in a different way via video chat or call.  I’m typically working with all my employees and colleagues on various projects or tasks each day, also reaching out to see how they’re doing and make sure they’re ok.  


There are challenges in parts of our routines that we may not be able to readily change, but we can look for opportunities in other areas.

I first heard the phrase "challenge equals opportunity" while in the Navy, in the early to mid-2000s as my peer group (an enlisted component of the Judge Advocate General's Corps) was preparing to support a large surge in manpower (deployment) demands in an expansion of OIF/OEF.  All I saw at the time was the "challenge" part of the phrase.

While never having participated in or completed Special Operations Training, I did have the privilege of meeting Admiral William McRaven in the early-mid 2000s in Oklahoma City (of all places).  Admiral McRaven has become known for his commencement speech at the University of Texas in 2014 – “make your bed.”  I had the privilege of meeting Admiral McRaven in the early 2000s in (of all places) Oklahoma City, OK).   (UT commencement speech linked here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaQZFhrW0fU  It is 20 minutes I hope you enjoy.  Takeaways if you choose not to watch:

1) " Make your bed" – recognize even the smallest of accomplishments.  Do the little things right.
2) Find friends, colleagues and even strangers to help – help them
3) Judge a person by the size of their heart and nothing else.
4)  Don’t be afraid of failure, understand the bigger purpose.  Embrace the challenge.
5) Challenges make you stronger.
6) Address challenges individually if needed, don’t bite off more than you can chew.
7) Face challenges head on-do not back down.
8) Be your strongest in the darkest times.
9) Give hope to others by being positive when you’re up against it.
10) Don’t’ give up.

One additional nugget passed on (there were many), was from my first Chief, who told me (repeatedly and likely as a result of seeing the fear in our faces with the unknown), “Change is good!”  I realized from Chief McCain that, in fact, adversity and challenge were good.  Like anything, expanding our boundaries causes us to grow.  Embrace the change that challenges (and opportunities) bring.


In this time of challenge, let us look to our heroes, our mentors, and – most importantly – each other, I hope you will.


Finally - regarding “social” distancing – it’s critically important for us to maintain our social contacts with appropriate physical distancing.  Call your colleagues to talk about work or not-work, share struggles and successes, laugh.  Join or host a virtual happy hour via a video chat.  More than ever we should be relying on each other for support and connections that make us stronger.  If you watched the video linked above, you should hopefully realize that being part of a team, a collective, a network, is the key to success or possibly even survival.


I hope we never have to experience challenges like this again, but if we do, I also hope we will have learned from our opportunities and look forward to seeking new opportunities.  We will be ready.  


Stay strong, stay safe and stay connected.