“The bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you don’t change direction” – Anonymous

You know where you want to go and you have an idea of how you want to get there. That is the first step in your journey. It doesn’t matter if we are talking about business or life but the road to success is not straight and it definitely not smooth. If it was, everyone would be successful. Like a race car driver navigating a twisty section of the track you need to adjust along the way. The sooner you accept that these barriers exist and learn to alter your course, the sooner you will be beyond them and onto your next challenge.

It is these barriers and challenges that allow us to grow as a person or a business. With each difficulty or experience we grow and expand in what we are comfortable with. What previously seemed insurmountable now doesn’t seem so big. As we grow and experience new challenges we allow ourselves build upon the foundation upon which we began. That foundation becomes broader and can carry a heavier load. Throughout life each experience teaches us a lesson that we use going forward. That first step, that first day of school or first day on the job. Without these experiences we would never conquer our fears because we would never move forward or grow. These experiences exist in business as well. Whatever it is you consider yourself good at or whatever topics you consider yourself an expert on, you got there through the experiences and the lessons you encountered and learned previously.

To get back on track, we need to adjust our direction along the way. You can think of every obstacle as a challenge or you can think of every obstacle as an opportunity. With each new opportunity you have a chance to grow and expand your comfort zone. You can only expand your comfort zone by facing these obstacles and accepting the challenge to move forward. Yes you will make mistakes and even have some failures but if you don’t at least make an attempt to overcome the obstacles you will get nowhere. Michael Jordan is quoted as saying “The only reason he was successful was because he failed so many times.” Had he not made an attempt to overcome these obstacles and accept them as challenges he never would have been successful. Each failure is a learning experience and often a motivator to succeed and move closer toward your destination. In reflection, you will realize that these obstacles were opportunities to get you where you are today and set the tone for where you are going. You will get there if you learn to adjust your course.