“When You’ve Robbed A Man Of Everything, He’s Free Again” ~ Solzhenitsyn

The intersection of power and adversity sometimes yields freedom. Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote: “You only have power over people so long as you don’t take everything away from them. But when you’ve robbed a man of everything, he’s no longer in your power – he’s free again.” This is a surprising paradox: that we humans become […]

How Do We Access Our Power When Adversity Makes Us Feel Powerless?

Last night, I had the privilege to participate in an evening called, “How To Cope With Challenging Economic Times,” and I was personally challenged by a woman in the audience who asked a question to the effect of, “After all the cliches, the support of friends and family, the positive self-talk, the resume rewriting and […]

Nietsche Meets Dr. Seuss

Continuing to explore the relationship between adversity and power, our friend, Tobey Crockett, reminds us of one of our favorite quotes: “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” Friedrich Nietsche Tobey writes: “This is related to the concept of design limitations that actually channel creative energy more powerfully into a narrower range of possible solutions […]

“We Acquire The Strength We Have Overcome” ~ Emerson

How often have you consciously chosen to take adversity and make it into personal power? Adversity can be a catalyst for growing one’s power – or it can induce whining and complaining. Similarly, misused power can be a gateway to abuse and, thus, to adversity. There’s a fascinating relationship between the two dynamics. Emerson said, […]

The Test Of Your Character Is How You Handle Power ~ Allen Roland

Many of you know Allen Roland’s phenomenal work: the supremely talented author and therapist who wrote the seminal book, Radical Therapy (and a great friend). His very popular blog had a great quote today apropos of the unfortunate situation that Tiger Woods has created. “The true test of a person’s character is not how they […]