Last week, we discussed the principle of turning negativity into positive energy by proving wrong the people that frustrate or ridicule us. We used illustrations from interesting turn-around experiences of Arsenal Footbal Club manager, Arsene Wenger.
Today, we want to share an interesting story that has recently made some headlines on the internet. This is a story of a software engineer who was rejected by at least two of the major technology companies in the world but they ended up paying a big cost for this omission as he proved them very wrong. Let us call this gentleman James.
It is reported that James sought jobs at two of the biggest technology companies in the world but neither of them employed him. James did not give up but instead, he joined efforts with his colleague and they privately worked on developing a software product which eventually became a globally popular tool for communication.
This tool rapidly became a force to reckon with and the two companies that had refused to employ James were beginning to see the new company as a major threat to their businesses or a great opportunity to take over for leap change in their fortunes as they seek to grow their businesses. In fact, one of the two companies ended up buying the company that James cofounded with his friend but they paid many billions of dollars to purchase this new company—much more expenditure than if they had employed James in the first place.
It can be argued that had James been employed by one of the two companies, he may have developed the same technology solution for the employer who in turn would have made many billions of dollars having spent very little in terms of the salary for James. Or at least, if they had employed him and he did not invent his solution, the company would still not have faced the business threat they saw before they decided to buy the new technology company. All this was possible because James had the right attitude and the right mindset.
Many of us would have been so disappointed after the employment rejections from the two big technology companies. We would have felt so frustrated that we would not have tried anything else. We would have resigned to go for simple basic options. We would never have imagined that we can fight back, that we can prove them wrong. But James chose to be different. He felt that the companies that rejected him were wrong and he sought to demonstrate his belief by proving them wrong. He proved them wrong thoroughly. And, in the process, he achieved a lot and became a multi-millionaire. He reached the limits of his potential in his chosen field of practice.
Everyone is able to achieve what James did, provided we adopt the same kind of attitude when we seem to be failing, when we hit a snag or stumbling block. When others frustrate us, we should seek alternative paths to our destination, with the zeal to prove them wrong. We need to turn negative feelings into positive energy that can be best put to use for great results. After all, we have seen Arsene Wenger achieve this and today, we have learnt of how James did it. This means that we too can achieve our desired goals by choosing to prove them wrong when they frustrate us.
Next time you meet someone that is frustrating you, or blocking your path to success, look for alternative channels to your goal and work very hard to prove them wrong. Turn the negative feelings into positive energy. If you do this with determination, you will have placed yourself on the path to success and you will surely rise and shine. Good luck!
