What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger comes from an aphorism of the 19th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. It has been translated into English and quoted in several variations, but is generally used as an affirmation of resilience.

I prefer llegitimi non carborundum which sounds like an ancient saying but in fact was first penned during WWII by British Intelligence.

Both sayings should be taken to heart. They will make us stronger and more able to deal with challenges we face throughout life. Now for a short anecdote about an event that really did change my life.

After I stopped offshore working I ended up, by a quirk of fate, in financial services. I was self employed, working for a Life Assurance company on a commission only basis.

Every month the company produced a ranked list of sales. One name was consistently at the top. His name was John Crossman who regularly earned over £100,000 pa. My personal target for my first year was £14,000. If I achieved that sum I would get to go to the company conference held in a first class hotel with an overnight stay and dinner. Having come from a Royal Naval background, I had never worked for a company that showered so much largesse on its workforce (sic). I was ambitious and was determined to qualify.

However, if I reached the next target of £22,500 we would get to go on a convention for 5 days in some exotic location. This was called The Falcon Club which nobody in Scotland had achieved in their first year. John Crossman was invited to our Glasgow office to share his sales techniques. Fifty of us were in the room to hear what he had to say.

He began, ‘I’m here to tell you the secret of how to succeed in this business”.

We all sat up. Here it was. The secret! What was he about to say?

What he said was, ‘There is no secret.’

Forty-nine people sunk back down despondently. Except for one. You guessed it. Me.

John explained what needed doing, giving the exact same message as management had for the three months I had been with the company. So I did as John said and reached Falcon Club level before the year end. Dorothy and I went on out first convention and had a great time.

But here’s the rub. I’d done it but then promptly forgot the lesson. I spent the first four or five months of the following year not doing what I needed to do to repeat my success. At some point I realised it and had to pull my finger out, get back to basics and do the required activity.

Both lessons were needed. The first to show me what I had to do, the second to show me I had to keep doing it.

This applies to everything in life, like starting to write a book but also continuing the process to the end.

I went on to be pretty successful in financial services which was just as well. Being an author not being the most lucrative occupation in the world.

Passion, commitment and focussed application will lead to success. It also helps the happiness quotient as the feeling of a job well done is good for our mental well being.