I have found that adversity comes when you least expect it and most often times when you are unprepared. The proverbial phrase, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” is used to encourage optimism and a positive can-do attitude in the face of adversity or misfortune. Lemons, as we all know, suggest sourness or challenging times, while lemonade is sweet and most often time associated with “good times.” I know from personal experience that when faced with adversity those were the times that my faith deepened and my strength increased. I encourage all those who are experiencing any sort of adversity in life to view it as an opportunity rather than an obstacle.

I recently had a setback (or so I thought) that initially looked like I was served a basket of sour lemons.  As I reflect on the incident – when I was terminated from a very high profile executive job – I realized that it was just the ingredient I needed to make the desired lemonade that I wanted.  I pulled together the resources I had gained over the course of my career, which all served as an added ingredient to create a unique tasting lemonade based on my desired liking. I was able to add strawberries, agave, mangos, and a little of this and that to the lemon juice.  It was what I needed as I sat down and sipped it looking out at the horizon daydreaming of all the possibilities I had put aside while working on a job that albeit provided me a huge income took away from my sense of being in the moment and enjoying the journey. The great African American educator Booker T. Washington quotes, “I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles overcome while trying to succeed.”