There will be a time in all of our lives when we will have to push through adversity. It could be a personal relationship, a professional radio relationship, a business failure, or a challenge at work.
I have seen these things in every aspect of my life and you have as well. It is easy to think that you have been cheated. We have all had tough things that we have been subjected to in life. I am going to give you my recipe. This is probably not the most eloquent or unique thing that you have read on the subject, but hopefully, it allows you to chew through a few things.
Life isn’t fair. This doesn’t mean that you should quit on life. Some people live in a vacuum where they are never challenged or introduced to new things. Everything is a risk. Driving to work today was a risk. There could be as many as 5,400 car accidents today caused by someone on the road not using their turn signal. If you believe in providence, your safe travels are merely a miracle of fate.
I have been in a car accident. It’s not all that fun. You probably have been in a fender bender as well. You didn’t quit driving. Depending on the severity of the injuries, you may have been nervous driving that first time after the accident. You persevered and are on the road.
I know more than one radio personality who was downsized, or a casualty of a radio station purchase and never applied for another radio job. But in their dreams, radio is their greatest love. Some of these people were exceedingly talented and innovative, but they walked away from their love.
I know a few of these people who are bitter and angry about a changing industry. Every industry changes. Radio, though, is a career of love. It is a mistress to a marriage. For many of us, radio was a love from childhood.
When I was a little kid, my dad would take me to work with him occasionally. My dad was a salesman. Driving to his appointments, he was listening intently to the voices in his truck’s dashboard. I remember imagining what the radio personality looked like, what was an actual radio studio like. I was obsessed. There was a cassette that I recorded over and over again when I was 4, pretending to host a radio show. I bet that you have a similar story. Radio’s bumps and disappointments have never been a deterrent. It was what I do for a living and nothing would stop me from my love. Radio was it. Sometimes radio has meant more to me than interpersonal relationships.
We have all things at the office that didn’t go as planned. Perhaps it was a promotion that didn’t execute properly or an event that was a failure. We have all been there. Sometimes there is finger-pointing instead of reflection. In a past position, there was a corporate initiative for NTR events. I came up with an idea and it sold out almost immediately. The market manager had a different idea and it failed spectacularly. The market manager was mad about the promo copy. He blamed me for the lack of interest. He then demanded to see and hear the promos that ran for the event that sold out immediately.
After all the accusations, he realized his idea wasn’t a good fit. He blamed the station’s audience after blaming me. I just pushed through, answered his questions, and the next event was a huge success. We have all had these moments. I could have easily told the boss to go to hell and probably get fired as a bonus to a justifiably angry outburst, but I didn’t. I pushed through.
The definition of resilience is the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties.
If we don’t do this in life, we will never reach our full potential. You must fight through these moments. Quitting means that you are frightened to see what you need to observe. Adversity creates success. It allows innovation and focus. We have all wanted to quit things in our lives.
It is all about perseverance. Parents who are smart never let their kids quit on something that the kid requested to do. It teaches commitment.
There was a recent news story about a fresh college grad who was crying about how hard working for a living was. She didn’t have time for a social life. She was exhausted. Didn’t know how she could meet a boyfriend. I wanted to tell her that this was life. I am not a psychologist, but I bet that this was her first full-time job. Probably only did internships in college and was never exposed to working with expectations of results. It is a big adjustment. I worked my way through school. I had no choice but to make it work. You may identify with me or with the girl in the news story.
Struggle and adversity make us better. Take on each roadblock with eagerness. You have the talent and ability to do it.
Peter Thiele is a weekly news/talk radio columnist for Barrett Media, and an experienced news/talk radio programmer. He recently served as program director for WHO/KXNO in Des Moines, IA. Prior to that role he held programming positions in New York City, San Francisco, Little Rock, Greenville, Hunstville, and Joplin. Peter has also worked as a host, account executive and producer in Minneapolis, and San Antonio. He can be found on Twitter at @PeterThiele.
