Sometimes, for all your planning and persistence, things just go awry. Unforeseen obstacles present themselves at the worst possible times and cause ripples that seemingly affect everything in their path. When this happens it is easy to focus on problems. They certainly demand attention and require it for correction but too many times business folks will fixate on the negative.

For example, if a key item is out of stock, one can imagine doom, worry about it and thereby loose sight of the other items they have to sell. It is important to note the problem, address ways to correct and then move on to what you can sell. While you may be missing out on sales of the key item, fretting over it can pull your focus from the bigger picture and lead to a morass of negativity. You have lots of other products that need attention, and now is the time to promote them to starring roles. Adjust your focus, devise a new strategy and keep on keeping on!

Resilience is a key characteristic of the successful. Those who have faced adversity in their lives tend to be more resilient and have a "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" mentality when it comes to business (or life) struggles. The ability to shift strategies quickly and let the previous plan go is a gift. If you have ever known someone lost in pondering why their plan didn't work and trying the same approach repeatedly only to fail time and time again, you have seen the importance of rolling with the punches. Sometimes cutting bait and changing course is the best plan of action. The rigid tree snaps under the weight of the snow and push of the wind, the flexible tree bends with each and rights itself when the weather is fair.