You’ll notice I rarely involve myself in memes these days unless they serve a useful purpose. When I first started this blog in 2006, memes were a great way to obtain link love and get my name out there. But now that it’s almost two years later (where did the time go?), a lot of things have changed and most memes are no longer an appropriate fit here at Adversity University.  But every once in a while I’ll get one that makes good sense.

So when Scot and Tammy tagged me on this “recycling of underappreciated posts” meme, I realized it was a perfect opportunity to take a walk down memory lane on my birthday and share a couple of older posts with you.

Here are 3 of them for you to read and comment on if you’re inspired to do so:

• Imagine You’re in the Clouds and You Break Out….
• How Entertaining the Possibilities Led Me to Shave My Head
• The Importance of Surrounding Yourself with the Right People

Food for thought: Rather than tagging specific people on this meme, if you are a blogger and you’re looking for an excuse to rehash some of your older, “underappreciated” posts, consider yourself tagged by me!

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It had to be new material.  

Fortunately, something happened last night that gave me just what I was looking for.  I hope it inspires you.

Once a month, my church holds an open door coffeehouse where everyone from the community is invited to showcase their artwork, share personal stories and poems in addition to singing, dancing or playing a musical instrument of their choice.  Shouldered between solo acts are karaoke sing-alongs with lyrics on a video screen.

Let me just state for the record that I’ve never cared much for karaoke music.  For the longest time, attending the coffeehouse was nothing more than a means of getting out of the house, nibbling on a snack or two and giving moral support for my good friend Joni, the organizer.  The moment I got itchy, I’d cut my stay short and bolt for the door.  After all, why sit through 3 hours of music that I can’t hear anyway?  While no one ever forced me to go to this monthly event, I certainly didn’t have a very good attitude about it either.  (Photo:  Dave Gorman)

Just before I left the house last night, I decided to upgrade my way of thinking about the whole thing.  Instead of going there with the “same old, same old” attitude, I replaced it with the thought that I was somehow going to have a great time even though I can’t hear anything.  

It took me several minutes after arriving at the church to warm up but when the lyrics of the third karaoke song appeared on the video screen, my whole way of being suddenly underwent a stunning transformation.  There I was, standing to the side and belting out the tunes with unbridled joy and exuberance like a carefree child.  The very surprised organizer quickly came over and handed me the microphone.  In the past, I would have shoved it away, vigorously shaking my head as if to say, “Get that damn thing away from me, don’t you know I can’t sing!?!?”  

But not this time.    

What I didn’t know was that while I was singing my heart out, something magical was happening.  According to Joni, it was like that electrically-charged night when  Paul Potts sang on ”Britain’s Got Talent,” the British version of “American Idol.”   If you haven’t seen the video, you’ll understand what I mean when you watch it here.  

You see, it wasn’t my voice that sent shock waves throughout the room.  Oh good golly, NO!  You’ll never see me on American Idol nor will I be signing a record deal anytime soon. 

What the people was responding to was the pure essence of my inner spirit that was allowed to come out to play because of a simple change of attitude I made earlier that night. 

And that, my friends, is the raw power of changing a habit!

Food for thought:  Step out from behind the cloak of oppressive darkness and allow your inner child to express uninhibited joy for others to see and experience.   It will change their life and ultimately yours.

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No Mistakes, only lessons:  Life is a series of experiences designed to help you grow and mature, which can only be a good thing.  Perhaps you put off fixing something you know needs repair but don’t want to spend the money.  Years ago someone told me the horn of my car was acting up strangely but I ignored it, hoping it’d go away.  One day I was driving on the freeway when the horn went off accidentally and remained stuck while I followed a group of Hell’s Angels.  What do you think I did after that?  (Photo Credit:  subzerobob).

Asking for Help Does Not Mean You’re a Brown-Noser:  As a youngster, I was constantly told I was a brown-noser for asking the teacher for help.  So I stopped.  For the longest time, I was the only guy in college who owned a VCR that constantly blinked 12:00.  Never mind the manual – - it was full of gobbleygook!  (Photo Credit:  dchurbuck)

Being Authentic Will Always Save Face:  Pretending to be someone you’re not will only cause you moments of sheer embarrassment.  One night I was in a bar and proceeded to have a conversation with someone sitting next to me, letting her lean over and talk in my ear.  I nodded, laughed and responded in all the right places, pretending I could hear (those of you who don’t know me, I’ve been deaf since birth).  At one point, I said “Yes” to a question, thinking I was being invited to a party. Imagine my shock when she opened the door to her hotel room when I saw an assortment of items that were NOT of polyster material on the bed.  Do you think I wore my hearing aids after that?  Photo Credit:  Elka8   (Note:  See The James Bond Lady Fiasco for the full story).

Food for thought:  What things do you know now that you wish you knew before?

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Brad Baggett of Juice of Champions recently tagged me in a new meme about thinking differently that was started by Peter at I Will Change Your Life. 

It took me a while to get around to it because I wanted to make sure that if I got involved, I’d be bringing value to the readers of Adversity University.  Memes are a great way to build community and link love both of which are perfectly wonderful and valid reasons to start one.  However, there are some out there that I perceive as nothing more than empty vehicles focused solely on bringing the originator a lot of link love in the hopes of building traffic and more subscribers for their sites. 

Don’t get me wrong.  Memes are a great way of fostering interaction among readers and new visitors.  I even attempted a hand at it with “Secrets of Dealing with Adversity” several months ago.  It was a modest success and I’m even thinking of bringing it back now that the community at Adversity University has grown larger. 

But I still have to ask the question: “Does it provide value?”

With the “Think Different Challenge,” the answer is a resounding YES.  I believe it fits in perfectly at Adversity University.  If each and every one of us took just a minute to change our way of thinking, the world would be in a much higher state of vibration.  There would be less hate and prejudice, not to mention drama, stress and greed.         

According to Peter, we are free to write whatever comes to mind as long as it has something to do with thinking differently.  We are also left with the freedom of either tagging specific people to participate or making a blank statement of invitation to those who wish to join us.  I choose the latter.  For more information, check out Peter’s Think Different Challenge.

If this meme is of interest to you and you have a blog, then by all means please consider yourself tagged by me at Adversity University!   

Without further ado, here are 3 ways of thinking differently:  

Be Open to New Experiences:  Don’t be stuck in a routine – do something absolutely outrageous once in a while.  Many years ago while living in New York City, I decided to do something crazy one Saturday morning.  I was out for a stroll with a friend.  Weekend traffic had slowed to a trickle.  We were in the middle of crossing Fifth Avenue when I suddenly looked both ways, dropped down and proceeded to make an imaginary snowman on the asphalt, screaming, ”THANK YOU GOD FOR EVERYTHING!”  Har, har, har, was that quite liberating!

Perceive every single person as having a divine mission:  You cannot tell why others are here on this planet but they, including yourself, are destined to carry out a special role.  Next time you see a person with a disability, (perhaps someone like Nick Vujici who has no arms and no legs), instead of feeling sorry for him, why don’t you see him as an instrument of God, teaching all of us lessons about perserverance, overcoming adversity and the awesome power of the mind?  A homeless person?  My goodness, instead of spitting in disgust at the smell or sight of one, why not see him as an angel in disguise, reminding you to get out of the “God, my life is awful!!” club?  

Want to be more centered, calm?  Imagine yourself as the center of a record.  The grooves encircling you represents life’s major challenges but there you are, in a calm state of mind, totally unaffected by everything swirling around you. 

Two weeks ago I was volunteering my time on a church community project.  A ton of unopened boxes were strewn everywhere.  Adding to the mix were a couple of volunteers rushing around like mad, loudly barking out ideas for all to hear, telling others what to do and unraveling hours of hard work previously done by others.  Needless to say, this brought on a lot of unnecessary tension.  In the past, I would have gotten caught up in the drama.  But at one point while unpacking a box, I took a deep breath, shut my eyes and visualized being in the center of that record.  In my mind’s eye, I was enclosed in a protective bubble to ward off negative energy.  Then I took it one step further and imagined those volunteers as children of God who were simply all excited and meant well. 

The result? 

I got through the entire evening in a state of unruffled grace!   It was exhilarating – you should try it.  (Photo Credit:  Bear Clause)

Food for thought:  What are the ways you can think differently today?

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Christy from Writer’s Review created a slew of awards that work like a meme where they are given out to bloggers who are found to be “inspirational,” “courageous,” “charitable,” “thoughtful,” or “creative.” The recipients are then invited to pass it on to others who are deserving of the same award. Christy’s idea is a marvelous way to create goodwill, recognize the work of other bloggers and generate lots of link-love!

Karen from A Deaf Mom Who Shares Her World was the recipient of the “Courageous Blogging Award” and paid it forward to me at Adversity University. Thank you Karen – I am both honored and humbled!

While I know of a lot of courageous people out there, I realized this presented a great opportunity for me to recognize those who have participated in the “Secrets of Dealing with Adversity” tagging experiment so far. A handful of people declined to share their secrets because it was either too personal or painful for them to do so. Therefore, I know how much courage it takes to participate in a project of this magnitude.

That’s why I decided to narrow down the field of recipients to those who courageously took on the challenge of revealing their innermost secrets and tips when dealing with adversity. As a result, the granting of this award became much more meaningful to the receipients and added a lot more value. It just so happens that Karen was one of those people to be a part of my project at Adversity University. You can read about her adversity secrets here.

The other participants are listed below.  The list is by no means complete because I am not yet ready to shut down the “Secrets of Dealing with Adversity” project. My vision is that this interactive project will eventually catch fire and go viral because adversity is the one thread that connects all of us, no matter where we are on this life’s journey. No one is immune because adversity never discriminates. In fact, adversity doesn’t even need an affirmative-action policy!

You never know who you could be helping at any given moment by divulging your adversity secrets. Someone might read your story/tip and decide right then and there to make a life-changing decision because of YOU. Imagine that!

Don’t be shy – even if you weren’t tagged to participate, you can still join in on the fun and make a difference. Please go here for more information.

Everyone is welcome – subscribers/readers of Adversity University, other bloggers and new/returning visitors. No one is turned away – NO ONE. There are no muscular bouncers at the door, picking the select few and turning the rest away. We are all in on this together.

Meanwhile, let’s congratulate the following people for receiving the “Courageous Blogger Award” from Adversity University!!!

Meryl at Meryl.net

Marie at Creative Spirit Faery

Marisa Haedike at Creative Thursday (Podcast)

Aaron Potts at Today is that Day

Dawn at Dawn Colclsure’s Blog

Scott Eggleston at Film Flap

Karen Lynch at Live the Power

Josh Johnston at CarolinaFlicks

Laura at Sound of Your Soul

Julie Gray at The Rouge Wave

Chris at The Philosophy of Change

Phil Gerbyshak at Make it Great!

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Up to this point, this blog has chronicled my personal stories, observations and tips in how I dealt with adversity that came banging at my door. Now I want to turn the tables by borrowing the concept of Aaron Pott’s highly successful “Simply Success Secret’s” tagging project, and invite you (the readers/subscribers of Adversity University) and the vast world of bloggers, newsletter publishers and website owners to participate in a new interactive experiment. I wish to thank Aaron for his encouragement to begin this project. Thanks Aaron!

Here’s what I am looking for in this tagging experiment:

1) List between 5 to 10 things you do when in the midst of adversity.

OR

2) Write a short story of a time you experienced a major form of adversity and how you handled it. End the story with the lesson(s) you learned as a result. There’s a saying that when you are ready, the teacher will appear. And that teacher is you!

Here’s how you can participate:

Readers and Subscribers of Adversity University:
Read what I’ve outlined below. If you do not have a blogging platform, then click on the email link on the right side of this page and send me your story and/or the 5-10 things you do to overcome adversity. In your email, let me know whether you want to list your first or full name. At the very least, please indicate the town and state you’re from. Thanks!

Bloggers, Website Owners and Newsletter Publishers:
1.) Create a new post on your blog, website or newsletter. In the first paragraph, tell your audience that you are participating in Stephen Hopson’s Adversity University tagging experiment called “Secrets of Dealing with Adversity” with a link and/or trackback to this post since I will be compiling the results at the end.

2.) Tag as many bloggers, website owners and/or newsletter publishers you’d like and invite them to join us. Not only will you be helping them gain exposure but you will also be inspiring them to achieve their dreams because they will see firsthand how you personally faced and beat adversity.

3.) For a little link love, please make sure you put a link/trackback to the person who tagged you for “Secrets of Dealing with Adversity.”

4.) Depending on which of above-mentioned formats you choose to use, post them on your blog, website or newsletter. By doing this, it is highly probable that it will also be seen by the audiences of those people who tagged you during the experiment because you gave back “link love.” This gives rise to the notion that when you give first, you get back!

5.) When you are done, please shoot me a quick email with a link to your post on this experiment so that I can make sure you are included in the final tallying of the results. While I will be using various methods to determine which sites and blogs participated by checking Technorati, Google, Yahoo and MSN, if you send me an email informing me of your participation, not only will I be 100% sure that no one is left out, I would also be in a position to send you an email alert when the final results are in. Cool? Thanks!

This interactive experiment will be over when I feel it has run its course. At that point, I will categorize the results in four sections and create a new blog post here at Adversity University. One section will be labeled “Adversity Stories” with links to sites containing them. The other will be called “Things People Do to Overcome Adversity” and posted in order of popularity. And finally, a special acknowledgement section will list every single participant in alphabetical order at the bottom of the post.

By participating, you will have a sense of satisfaction knowing that you may have helped countless of fellow human beings get through the stumbling blocks that they may be facing right now. You never know the impact you may be making on their lives.

Consider how my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Jordan, unknowingly made a huge impact simply by uttering three words in response to a question I answered in her class over 30 years ago. Not only did it give me courage to stand up to the school bully on the playground but it also caused a huge ripple effect throughout the rest of my life. You can see the story here and here.

Won’t you be like her and make a difference with your words of wisdom today? I ask that you help me “pay it forward” with your words of wisdom and make a difference to the lives of at least 500 people, collectively, with your experience in overcoming adversity.

I’ll start first……

5 Ways I Overcome Adversity

1. Pray! – Just when the (deleted) hits the fan, I always go to the one invisible source and pray for soothing comfort and strength to get through it.

2. Take Responsibility - Rather than blaming anything or anyone, I force myself to take a hard look at the situation at hand and see how I might have attracted it to me (i.e. Was it my attitude? Was it my ego? Was I careless or impulsive? Was I too attached to the outcome?)

3. Surround Myself with Supportive Family and Friends – We cannot endure adversity on our own – I seek out the love and support of those who I know care about me. (Note: This is where you find out who your true friends are!).

4. Visualize my dreams – When my dreams are blocked for any reason, I go out to the front porch, light up a Montensino Toro cigar and find myself a comfortable chair. Once settling in, I close my eyes and visualize (in vivid color) the dreams I hold dear to my heart so I can be reminded why I am on the path I chose for myself. This is the single most powerful tool I have at my disposal because it never fails to reinvigorate the enthusiasm and desire for the so-called impossible dreams to manifest. This is how I eventually became the world’s first deaf instrument rated pilot, among other things.

5. Exercise – Working out at the gym clears my mind, gets the blood circulating and makes me feel better afterwards, particularly if I had a vigorous run on the treadmill. I feel like a new person, ready to tackle the challenges at hand with a fresh perspective.

The 5 ways I deal with adversity are by no means a complete list of things I do but they count among the most important for me. What about you?

Here are the following bloggers, newsletter publishers and website owners that I am tagging today (in no particular order of preference or status):

Ron McDaniel – Buzzoodle
Jane Genova - Speechwriter/Ghostwriter
Meryl - Meryl.net
Leon Ho - LifeHack
Guy Kawasaki -How to Change the World
Aaron Potts – Today is that Day
Rajesh Setty – Life Beyond Code
Howard Putnam - Former CEO Southwest Airlines
Wendy – Wings for the Spirit
Patrick Combs - Good Thinking Co.
Seth Godin – Seth Godin’s Blog
Chris Garrett - Chris Garrett on New Media
Joe Vitale - “Mr. Fire”
Steve Pavlina – Personal Development for Smart People
Michael Werner – Dream Jobs Dialog
Robin Hamman – Ouch!
Eric Lochtefeld – University of Dreams
Nita – Moments
Stephen Shapiro – Goal Free Life
Diary of a Bronx Teacher
California Teacher Guy
Karen Putz – A Deaf Mom Shares Her World
Laura Faeth – Sound of Your Soul
Cyan Ta’eed – The Freelance Switch
Darren Rowse – Problogger

Okay, there I’m done! Let’s go and inspire people around the world!

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Before I respond this delightful challenge, I want to share bits and pieces of a wonderful email I received from one of my new subscribers. She’s given me permission to do so.

Hi Stephen:

Your writings definitely show people how to graduate from Adversity University. It’s all about “getting the lessons” and sometimes we stay in the wilderness for 40 years (when it was actually a three day journey) because we don’t get them.

One of my mentors in real estate kept asking me “what’s the lesson?” each time I had something go wrong or had a failure. I could not put my finger on the “what went wrong or why it happened”. But after hearing that question over and over again, a light bulb came on, I connected the dots and I applied that to every life situation (not just real estate) and turned my life around from eeking out a living to making ends meet to finally having more than enough.

Although I am a real estate broker, my life purpose is “calling out to me”…. For over 20 years I’ve had on my goal sheet to start a women’s ministry…… So many times we are wearing a mask, hurting inside, talking about shoes and clothes when our hearts long to be heard. I wanted to create that sacred space where women could voice the true issues of their heart and I could help them “come forth” (like the caterpillar turning into the butterfly)…….

My intention is to write, speak, coach and transform. I got inspiration last night to seek a sponsor to underwrite my project so that everyone who was ready to “come forth” would be able to. ……I know this is the work I was put here to do.

Sharmaine

sharmaine@comcast.net

How beautiful was that?!? She has a grand vision and is taking inspired action when compelled to do so. She practices the act of “letting go and letting God.” Sharmaine is taking the principles of the law of attraction to the highest possible level. Won’t you join me in granting her continued success? Thanks Sharmaine for letting me share your story!!

Getting back to the blogger challenge, Aaron of “Today is That Day” has asked the blogging world to list between 5 to 10 daily success habits that we are doing to achieve our dreams. They can be anything at all as long as we do them at least 4 to 5 times a week.

Here are the top 10 daily things I do in my quest for inspired success:

1. Express Gratitude: I’ve been doing this for a long time now but after watching “The Secret,” I added a new twist to it. Each morning when I wake up, I automatically turn on my gratitude thoughts and thank God for my blessings. An attitude of gratitude causes me to feel good, setting the tone for the day – essential in manifesting and attracting my intentions.

2. Visualize My Dreams: Several times a week, I visualize myself doing the things I aspire to do like becoming the first deaf pilot to fly a small jet, speaking to thousands in a stadium, signing a mega-best-selling book in bookstores and appearing on Oprah. As I visualize, I create feelings and emotions as if I were already doing these things. Adding emotions and feelings are the key ingredients to the success of visualization. This is how I became the first deaf instrument-rated pilot and a successful stockbroker on Wall Street (among other things). I take the time to do it because I know it works.

3. Workout: Last November 2006, I made a decision to take better care of my body as part of creating an all-around balance that I needed to create better results for myself. I made a commitment to workout at least 5 days a week. The results have been phenomenal. In 5 months, I’ve lost 16 pounds (178 lbs to 162 lbs) and burned 2 inches off my waist (34″ to 32″). Not only do I feel great after each workout, but I’ve made more room in my mind for inspired ideas to come through because my body feels good overall.

4. Monitor daily thoughts: Some of you may recall a post I wrote called “What Kind of Thoughts Go Through Your Mind?” Instead of operating on auto-pilot as most people tend to do, I pay attention to the thoughts that come through. If they serve the greater good, than I keep them. If they don’t, I toss em’ out by consciously replacing them with better thoughts!

5. Read a book or watch an inspiring movie: Right now, I’m reading “The Attractor Factor” by Joe Vitale. It’s fabulous. I just bought “The Secret” DVD and pop it in my computer when I need to be reminded of the law of attraction principles or need a little boost of energy. I almost never watch the news or TV shows that carry negative energy. I consciously pick and choose what I feel will inspire, uplift and motivate me to the next level.

6. Reprogram my mindset: The secret is to elevate your level of self-awareness and become conscious of your belief system. I make it a daily habit to reprogram my old belief system that no longer serve me. For example, “You have to struggle to make it to the top” becomes “Business comes to me easily and effortlessly.”

7. Let Go and Let God: One of the toughest things for most people is to let go and let God. After you set an intention for something to manifest in your life (whether it’s more money, a better job, a better relationship, etc), one of the secrets to bringing about the “impossible” is to let it go. Trust the universe will bring about the “how” to you. By letting things go on a conscious level, I am sending a signal to the universe that I am trusting that it will bring about exactly what I desire back to me in more ways than one. “Letting go” prevents me from locking into any one source of manifestation.

8. Take inspired action: Inspired action come from “inner nudges” that compel you to take a specific course of action toward the intention you just put out and let go. Sometimes I get ideas in the shower or through other people’s emails, from a book or even a billboard that triggers an actionable idea that feels right. If the action to take feels good, do it! Don’t delay. Sharmaine’s email (see above) is an example of something she said that triggered an idea for me. All she wrote was: “Your writings definitely show people how to graduate from Adversity University. It’s all about getting the lessons…..”

This led me to the idea of offering e-courses online, just like a regular university where I would charge tuition and teach life lessons in overcoming adversity over a 5-week period. More details to follow……

9. Ways to Give/Pay it Forward: Famous motivational speaker Zig Ziglar says “if you help just enough other people get what they want, you get what you want.” I am always thinking how I can give back in the form of tithing money, spending quality time with someone, sharing ideas or tips, expressing love, giving recognition and experiencing gratitude, etc. You’ll recall Joe Vitale’s e-book I told you about in an earlier post about the power of giving.

10. Write something: Every day I peck away at the keyboard and hone my writing skills. Either I’m creating a new story for this blog, responding to someone’s email or working on my book. People have said my writing is “hypnotic” because it pulls them into the stories I’ve written and makes them feel they are not “just reading” but actually witnessing and experiencing the emotional charges from events that appear to be unfolding right in front of their own eyes. This is really exciting because I find that when I write from the heart, the words flow easily and effortlessly. Because it’s such a joy to write, it creates good feelings, which increases my energy vibration on that day, causing me to attract what I want into my life.

There’s actually more that I do on a daily basis but this covers all the bases. Thanks again to Aaron of Today is that Day for this wondeful idea and for Wendy of Creation Thoughts for “tagging” me.

Here are a handful of bloggers I am tagging:

Steve: “Personal Development for Smart People”

Joe Vitale: “Mr. Fire”

Michael of “Dream Job Dialog”

Stephen: “Goal Free Living”

Miss Dennis: “Dairy of a Bronx Teacher”

Anonymous: “CaliforniaTeacherGuy”

Meryl: “Bionic Ear Blog”

Karen: “A Deaf Mom Shares Her World”

Rajesh: “Life Beyond Code”

Jason: “What is Metaphysics”

Food for thought: Go and inspire someone today!

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