One of the certainties about growing older is the number of noteworthy events in life continues to increase. In short, things happen. Often times, the things that happen seem catastrophic. There have been two events in my personal life that seemed not just personally catastrophic, but career ending. Both events happened many years ago. The descriptions of the events are not as important as the life changing results that occurred.

I began my career in the Investments industry when I returned from overseas, after serving as an officer in the U.S. Army for two years. I was ready to enter the business world. I was not sure what a stockbroker (my new job) did but was ready to learn. My boss and mentor was a former U.S. Naval officer. I learned more from him than any other person in my life outside of family. I became a rising star in the company and was one of the youngest employees in the firm promoted into a management position. I thought there was no limit to my advancement and I would be in this company for life.

Something very traumatic happened. The company experienced a large financial loss. There was nothing criminal but the blame for the loss began to circulate. The senior personnel at the main office blamed me for the loss. I denied that it was my fault and I fought back. It did not take long for me to realize that however the situation resolved, my reputation in the firm had been destroyed. I was devastated. I was sure my career as a stockbroker was over. I did not realize at that time what was really happening. I was forced to enter a new professional position at a different company that I never would have sought, nor taken. I learned something new. Out of every crisis is borne an opportunity. My career reached a new level at the new firm. In hindsight, it was a gift.

Five years later, the country was experiencing a very severe recession. Many businesses were going bankrupt. The company that I was working for experienced major financial problems. They were in dire need of capitalization. The publicity was very negative and frightening for my customers. Once again, I felt as if all was failing. I learned once again that out of every crisis is borne an opportunity.
In both situations, I received a considerable amount of publicity. Publicity is a double edge sword. When on the wrong side of publicity it seems destructive. On the other side is notoriety. Out of all of the bad publicity came favorable results and favorable publicity. I was sought out for business articles in many publications and was quoted often. I appeared frequently on radio and television programs. I became well known in the financial industry.

Two expressions to never forget;

• out of every crisis is borne an opportunity
• opportunity is a constant