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The company I started was centered around social media marketing. I had pitched my business plan to several entrepreneurs I knew and had received extremely positive feedback.  I was confident that I had a great idea, and I was going to be incredibly successful in this endeavor.  Failure was not an option for me, and I was convinced my idea was nearly failure-proof.

Well, as you have probably already guessed, my initial business model, everything it was designed to do to make money, was an epic failure, and never brought in a single dollar of revenue.  The decision to quit my job and start my own business; however, was a great success and one of the best decisions I ever made.  You might be asking yourself, “How can this be?” Simply put, because I was willing to adapt and overcome.

Right from the very start I discovered that most of the business owners I was soliciting my new service to had plenty of other needs than my gimmicky social media nonsense. And they would ask me if I could offer those other services.  And do you know what I told them?  Of course I could!  Initially almost every job that I took on was completely out of my skillset.  In fact, the very first gig offered to me was to help design a brand new product for an industry I knew nothing about.  Up to this point I had never designed anything before, and had never even used Adobe Illustrator, which was required to facilitate this job.  This did not stop me though, and I spent as much time as possible learning everything I could about this industry, product design, and Illustrator.  I also asked others for help, and ultimately delivered a great product to the client.  This was the first of many, many opportunities like this.  A few examples of other projects I was asked to do include:  building websites, designing an entire magazine, managing an advertising sales team, home inspections, logo design, and so many other things I had never done before.  It was a crazy time, and looking back I am honestly amazed at the scope of some of the gigs I picked up and how I was able to manage them.

There is a saying I’ve always loved, which states, “God cannot steer a parked car.”  This is a universal principle, whether you hold to a belief in a higher power or not.  You’ll never know what you could have accomplished if you never make an effort.  You cannot steer your own car to a better life or to overcome your struggles, if you never pull out of the driveway.  In my case, I believe 100% that the Lord guided me through this and many other challenges in my life, but it first required me to get moving and take the initial step.

The skills I picked up freelancing have forever changed my life.  I have opportunities today that only exist because of the experiences and struggles I went through during this period of my life.  I had to be willing to abandon my initial business model and adapt to the opportunities before me.  It would have been really easy to tell potential clients that I did not offer the services they needed and stick to my original plan, but ultimately I believe that would have been the wrong decision.  My success and growth came because I was willing to adapt and overcome.

– Geoff Bokish

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Lisa Cox
Kansas City, Mo

The post “Hip Replacement to 5k to Broken Back” by Lisa Cox appeared first on Adapt & Overcome Stories.

When I first got my prosthesis, it was very painful to put any pressure on my residual stump. That part of the body wasn’t designed to withstand my body weight. Combine that with my knee buckling every time I took a step, made it extremely difficult to walk. You see, on my right leg, I have a heel. So every time I take a step, my heel hits the ground, which fires my patella tendon, which in turn, keeps my knee from buckling, and I walk normally. However, on my left side, I don’t have a heel. So I had to figure out a way to fire my patella tendon so my knee wouldn’t buckle. I figured out that if I flexed my quadricep in my thigh, my patella tendon would fire, then my knee wouldn’t buckle, and I could take a step without falling. Seems easy enough right? Well, let me tell you, it’s not! Every single time I took a step, I had to tell myself, “Flex my quad. Flex my quad.” Every. Single. Step. If I forgot, then my knee would buckle, and I would take a tumble. If I was having a conversation with someone as I was walking, I would have to pause between steps and say “flex my quad” or my knee would buckle. It made for some interesting conversation! So, it took hours and hours and days and weeks and months to build muscle memory in my brain so that I don’t have to remind myself on every step to “Flex my quad.”

It’s been over 4 years and every now and then, it still buckles on me. I guess 39 years of not having to say “Flex my quad” still creeps into my brain and it forgets. But, I’m reminded of it very quickly! This is just one of the challenges that I’ve had to Adapt and Overcome since becoming an amputee. It is so hard but it is so worth it. If you do the easy things in life, life will be hard. However, if you do the hard things in life, life will be easier. Adapt and Overcome!

– Gary Weiland

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Take Gary Weiland, for example. After losing a leg, he could have very easily accepted that his life would never be the same, and allow the new negatives in his life be what defined him. Instead, he turned those negatives into positives, and made sure his life would definitely never be the same, but for the better. His story has already inspired countless individuals, and we want it to help countless more. You can learn more about Gary and his story at garyweiland.com.

We need your help to spread this message, as we only have so many personal experiences ourselves. We will all grow together as we build a community of individuals committed to being on the winning end of anything the world throws at us. So come join us, share your story, and help us inspire those in need of a little motivation. If you’d like to share a personal story with us, please email submit@adaptandovercomestories.com. We’d love to hear from you, and you may even be featured here on Adapt and Overcome Stories.

If you’d like to let the world know that you’re committed to beating life’s challenges, you can do so without even saying a word, when you wear A&O clothing. Check out what we have to offer at adaptandovercomeapparel.com.

Now get out there, share these great stories on social media and with the world. You have the power to inspire and lift others. You really do! We’re going to do our best to build resiliency and help pull others through their struggles. We hope you’ll join us!

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