In 1914, Thomas Edison’s factory in New Jersey was destroyed by a fire. The damaged exceeded 2 million dollars and much of Edison’s work (his life’s work) went up in flames.

In the midst of the fire, Edison’s 24-year old son searched frantically for his father. Upon finding him safe, he said, “My heart ached for my father— he was 67 and no longer a young man.”

When Edison saw his son, he shouted, “Charles, where’s your mother? Find her and bring her here. She will never see anything like this as long as she lives.”

The next morning, Edison looked at the ruins and said, “There is great value in a disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.”

In the past, I’ve allowed mistakes, challenges, and some tragedies I have faced affect me far more than they would have if I had been able to stay positive, faith-filled, and resilient.

Resiliency is one of the greatest assets and one of the greatest weapons we can use to battle our losses. It is POWERFUL and the difference maker for leaders.

Here are seven powerful traits of resilient leaders:

1. Resilient leaders look to uncover the lesson in defeat, rather than leaving themselves feeling defeated.
2. Resilient leaders discover what can be done instead of focusing on what can’t be done.
3. Resilient leaders regard problems as growth opportunities.
4. Resilient leaders look for new open doors rather than fixating on what has closed.
5. Resilient leaders draw strength from their family, friends, and faith— and they encourage themselves to stay strong and never quit.
6. Resilient leaders refuel, rest, recover, and then “get fired-up” to rediscover a new win.
7. Resilient leaders do believe failure can be a stepping stone. Without hope, failure is a tombstone.

I encourage you to embrace resiliency, hope, and encouragement. Embrace a new day. The best is yet to come!

“Thank God we can start anew.”
— Thomas Edison

“The leader looks around the corner in anticipation of good things that await.” 
— Steve Gutzler