The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph

Our actions may be impeded, but there can be no impeding our intentions or dispositions. Because we can accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting.

There are a few things to keep in mind when faced with a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. We must try:

To be objective

To control emotions and keep an even keel

To choose to see the good in a situation

To steady our nerves

To ignore what disturbs or limits others

To place things in perspective

To revert to the present moment

To focus on what can be controlled

"Nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so," as Shakespeare put it.

To harness the same power, recovering addicts learn the Serenity Prayer.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change The courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference.

No. No excuses. No exceptions. No way around it: It’s on you.

We don’t have the luxury of running away. Of hiding. Because we have something very specific we’re trying to do. We have an obstacle we have to lean into and transform.

No one is coming to save you. And if we’d like to go where we claim we want to go—to accomplish what we claim are our goals—there is only one way. And that’s to meet our problems with the right action. Therefore, we can always (and only) greet our obstacles with energy

with persistence

with a coherent and deliberate process

with iteration and resilience

with pragmatism

with strategic vision

with craftiness and savvy

and an eye for opportunity and pivotal moments

Are you ready to get to work?

Consider this mind-set.

never in a hurry

never worried

never desperate

never stopping short

Epictetus: "persist and resist." Persist in your efforts. Resist giving in to distraction, discouragement, or disorder.

There’s no need to sweat this or feel rushed. No need to get upset or despair. You’re not going anywhere—you’re not going to be counted out. You’re in this for the long haul. Because when you play all the way to the whistle, there’s no reason to worry about the clock. You know you won’t stop until it’s over—that every second available is yours to use. So temporary setbacks aren’t discouraging. They are just bumps along a long road that you intend to travel all the way down.

Great entrepreneurs are:

never wedded to a position

never afraid to lose a little of their investment

never bitter or embarrassed

never out of the game for long

They slip many times, but they don’t fall

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield

Stop making it harder on yourself by thinking about I, I, I. Stop putting that dangerous "I" in front of events. I did this. I was so smart. I had that. I deserve better than this. No wonder you take losses personally, no wonder you feel so alone. You’ve inflated your own role and importance.

Start thinking: Unity over Self. We’re in this together.

See things for what they are.

Do what we can.

Endure and bear what we must.

What blocked the path now is a path.

What once impeded action advances action.

The Obstacle is the Way.