Here’s To Defying the Odds

Success is never guaranteed, and defying the odds in life always requires a degree of courage. From the inception of any new idea, the launch of a new business, or the moment when we try something new for the first time, risk is involved. There are odds to defy, and there are things stacked up against us.

This is especially true when it comes to leading our businesses and organizations. From a Forbes article in 2018… “Roughly 80% of small businesses survive the first year… From there the number falls sharply. Only about half of small businesses survive past the five-year mark… Beyond that, only about one in three small businesses get to the 10-year mark and live to tell the tale.”

Launching a business, the odds are not in your favor.

Defying odds like these doesn’t just apply in business. Think about the cancer patient who gets the diagnosis from their doctor, telling them they’re facing a 5% survival rate. Think about the Navy SEAL in training, where the odds of completion are 1 in 4. The world is full of hard things where the odds tell us not to try, to give up quickly, and to let go of our dreams.
It’s up to us to choose. Screw the odds, or let them hold us back.

How do we defy the odds? It begins with three things…

1. The belief that what we want is possible. Defying the odds begins with the belief that we are not average – a knowing that we are above average either in our natural abilities and expertise or in the amount of grit and hard work we’re willing to apply to developing these things. Often, it’s a combination of the two that lead us to believe in the possibilities. The entrepreneur believes in their venture, the cancer patient believes in their healing, and the SEAL believes they have a warrior inside. Belief, when we have that moment where we say “Yes, we can…” is the spark that ignites everything else.

2. The courage to step through our fears. Our belief in what’s possible has to be supported by courage. The entrepreneur, the cancer patient, and the SEAL in training all face fears throughout their journey. Not one fear, but many of them. You’re facing your own fears as you’re reading this, and you get to choose what you’re going to do with them. Will they lead you back to mediocrity and the status quo because the odds look so daunting, or will you take control of them and take the next step even though you’re afraid? Courage isn’t the lack of fear – it’s acting in the face of fear. It’s a massive part of how we defy the odds.

3. The circle of people around us to make it a reality. The entrepreneur surrounds themself with other big thinkers. The cancer patient surrounds themself with physicians and caregivers. The SEAL surrounds themself with other SEALs who they will someday team with on the battlefield. In each instance, defying the odds requires the help and support of other people. Defying the odds is not an individual sport; even if it were, the athlete would still need good coaching.

Before You Discount This As Rah-Rah…
This isn’t mental to be a motivational cheerleading session. Here’s the reality check. We’re surrounded by businesses that have beat the odds and are thriving. Someone needs to represent the 5% of cancer patients who are healed. Someone needs to step up and be the one SEAL of every four who make it through training. Even when the odds feel slim, people are beating the odds. Why not you?

Call-to-Action
Today is your chance to be an odds-defy-er. Whatever challenge you’re facing right now – whatever is stacked against you professionally or personally – screw the odds. Be the business that thrives, the 5% of all cancer patients who experience remission, the one SEAL of every four who earns their trident. Believe it’s possible, step through your fears, and surround yourself with a strong circle. Then, go make it happen.