Your Adversity Quotient Predicts Your Success
Rocky wasn’t famous because he hit hard, Dave Wood says, he was famous because he kept getting back up. In this short episode Dave breaks down Paul Stoltz’s concept of the adversity quotient, the idea that how you handle setbacks predicts your success better than how smart you are. It’s a quick one, but it’s the difference between an entrepreneur who folds the first time the universe kicks him and one who doesn’t. Here’s the episode.
As you allow your mind to absorb today’s episode, remember that Rocky was not famous because he hit hard. He was famous because he kept getting up. I wanted to share a quote from Orrin, from the book I’ve been reading. He said, many people feel that they’re not smart enough to succeed, but typically the most successful people are not the highest scorers on an IQ test. I’m going to keep this content short today, because we’re dealing with adversity. And what does a winner do when he encounters adversity? He perseveres. That’s it.
What Is Your Adversity Quotient?
What is adversity quotient, and how does it tie into every aspect of your life? The phrase was created by Paul Stoltz, in 1997, in his book called Adversity Quotient: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities. Your personal adversity quotient measures your ability to deal with and overcome adversities in your life, whether those adversities are internal or external. This is the science of resilience, argued by Paul Stoltz, and more recently acknowledged by Orrin Woodward in his book Resolved. The fact that a person’s adversity quotient is the best predictor of success has been demonstrated to be true. Not only does a high AQ predict future success, you can also use it to predict your attitude, your mental stress, your perseverance, your longevity, your learning ability, and your response to changes in your environment.
Rocky Wasn’t Famous Because He Hit Hard
Remember what I said before? Rocky is not famous because he hit hard. He’s famous because he kept going, he kept getting up. If you want to be an entrepreneur, expect to have the universe kick your ass from time to time. To me, that’s God, and he’s saying: how bad do you really want it? The ability to withstand pain and to persevere with relentless vision and optimism is by far the single greatest characteristic of the great entrepreneur, because the entrepreneur does not allow the environment to do things to him. He changes the environment, with his willpower, with his vision, with his work ethic, and an endless pursuit of wisdom and a better way. You are not the past. You are not your obstacles. You are a divine creation, my friend, made in the image of complete brilliance, and you can step into your vision.
Pressure Turns You Into A Diamond
Next time you’re down and out, just remember something. I’ll end by quoting one of my favorite preachers, T.D. Jakes. In a recent sermon I heard, he said this: a lot of people say they want a ministry like mine, but I say, can you handle the pain? Great pressure creates better muscles, a better brain, a better man, a better woman, a better father, a better mother, a better entrepreneur. Pressure turns you into a diamond. My question is, are you ready to now shine?
Full episode transcript
Lightly edited from the original recording — fillers removed, nothing added. Income disclaimer.
Welcome to the Daily Shortcut. My name is Dave Wood, and I am the founder of Empower Network. And as you allow your mind to absorb today's impactful episode, allowing it to permeate your unconscious mind, remember that Rocky was not famous because he hit hard. He was famous because he kept getting up. I wanted to share today with you a quote from Oren from the book that I've been reading.
He said, many people feel that they're not smart enough to succeed, but typically the most successful people are not the highest scorers on an IQ test. Today, I'm going to keep this content short because we're dealing with adversity. And what does a winner do when he encounters adversity? He perseveres. That's it.
What is adversity quotient, and how does it serve and tie into every aspect of your life? Well, the phrase was actually created by Paul Stoll. Paul Stoll, in 1997, in his book that's called Adversity Quotient, Turning Obstacles into Opportunities. Your personal adversity quotient measures your ability to deal with and overcome adversities in your life, whether those adversities are internal or whether they're external. This is the science of resilience.
Argued by Paul Stoll, the more recently now acknowledged by Oren Woodward in his book Resolved, the fact that a person's adversity quotient... is the best predictor of success has been demonstrated to be true. Not only does a high AQ predict future successes, but you can also use it to predict your attitude, your mental stress, your perseverance, your longevity, your learning ability, and also your response to changes in your environment. Remember what I said before? Rocky is not famous because he hit hard.
He's famous because he kept going. He kept getting up. If you want to be an entrepreneur, expect to have the universe kick your ass from time to time. To me, that's God, and he's saying this. How bad do you really want it?
The ability to withstand pain and to persevere with relentless vision and optimism is by far the single greatest characteristic of the great entrepreneur. Because the entrepreneur does not allow the environment to do things to him. He changes the environment. He changes the environment with his willpower, with his vision, with his work ethic, and endless pursuit of wisdom and a better way. You are not the past.
You are not your obstacles. You are divine creation, my friend, and you're made in the image of complete brilliance. And remember this always. You can step into your vision. You know what?
I just wanted to tell you something. You are powerful. You're capable. I love you and care about you. And you have the power to change the world.
Next time you're down and out, just remember something. And I'll end by quoting one of my favorite preachers, and that's T.D. Jakes. In a recent sermon, I heard where he had said this. A lot of people say they want a ministry like mine.
But I say, can you handle the pain? Great pressure creates better muscles, a better brain, a better man, a better woman, a better father, a better mother, a better entrepreneur. Pressure turns you into a diamond. My question is, are you ready to now shine? Leave me your thoughts in the comments, my friends.
I will see you in the next episode. And remember, you matter. And as you continue to watch these, you will transform. Hey, it's Dave Wood again. And I wanted to congratulate you for taking one more step towards your dreams by receiving your daily bonus materials.
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