Tough Times Don't Last, Tough People Do! (General)

It was my first real job, and I was new to sales. It was also a very difficult economic time for our country. Double-digit interest rates and double-digit unemployment were gripping the country and I was overjoyed just to have a job, however, I was worried about the fact that sales were few and far between, and future sales looked bleak. Somewhere between worry and panic, I heard Rev. Robert Schuler on TV talking about the tough times we were facing, and he uttered a line that has stuck with me through many challenges I have faced since then: “Tough times don’t last, tough people do!” I took those words to heart and I began to get tough. I cut my expenses, delayed purchases, and began to sharpen my sales knowledge and skills. It was a tough time, but it was also followed by one of the longest periods of expansion in our history… and I had survived. It may sound funny but, I felt a little stronger, more skilled and more confident in my ability to take on difficult challenges. In the early 1990’s, I had just moved to Orlando and again, was facing some difficult times with my business, and with the economy. Reverend Schuler’s words became my motto because, in my mind, I was not supposed to be facing such an uncertain future! That simple thought, and lots of hard work, got me through…and sure enough, the economy re-bounded, my company grew, and I emerged a little wiser, but with a lot more grey hair and worry wrinkles! Just today, those words came back to me again as I read the paper, watched the news, and stood in line to cast my vote for president. No doubt, we are facing difficult times! As a nation, I’m confident that we have the ability to overcome these challenges, but it will require our collective will and resolve to truly fix the problems, and not just talk around them. We can restore freedom to the free market, integrity to our justice system, and confidence in our leadership, but it will take us all working together, with absolute honesty, creativity, and toughness. Difficult times always require us to re-focus on our priorities, examine our status quo, and develop the grit to make those difficult decisions that we have postponed. Everyone will face their own personal challenges in this difficult time, and it can be scary, frustrating, and extremely, difficult, however, somewhere between worry and panic, it always helps me to remember that tough times don’t last, tough people do!