It doesn’t matter whether this is the worst time to be alive or the best, whether you’re in a good job market or a bad one, or that the obstacle you face is intimidating or burdensome. What matters is that right now is right now.

Live in present moment.

We often make mistake of starting something new when it is the right time (according to us), when in reality there is no such things as right timing.With timing, there are also numerous factors that play key role in success of one event or product.

Opportunity in disguise

For the most part, these businesses had little awareness they were in some historically significant depression. Why? Because the founders were too busy existing in the present—actually dealing with the situation at hand. They didn’t know whether it would get better or worse, they just knew what was. They had a job they wanted to do, a great idea they believed in or a product they thought they could sell. They knew they had payroll to meet.

Why is it so?

The trick to forgetting the big picture is to look at everything close up. —

We should start doing something which we love and can bet our lives on it.Our purpose should be portrayed with our behaviour and lifestyle.Coming is the list of companies which were started in economic downturn or when it's supposed to be fail miserably.But it was the courage, vision and faithfulness of the founders behind these companies or institutions which made them survived and transformed into something valuable.

What we should do?

Following is the list of companies:-<ul><li>Fortune magazine (ninety days after the market crash of 1929) </li><li>FedEx (oil crisis of 1973) UPS (Panic of 1907) </li><li>Walt Disney Company (After eleven months of smooth operation, the twelfth was the market crash of 1929.) </li><li>Hewlett-Packard (Great Depression, 1935) </li><li>Charles Schwab (market crash of 1974–75) </li><li>Standard Oil (Rockefeller bought out his partners in what became Standard Oil)</li><li>Revlon (Great Depression, 1932) </li><li>General Motors (Panic of 1907) </li><li>Proctor & Gamble (Panic of 1837) </li><li>United Airlines (1929) </li><li>Microsoft (recession in 1973–75) </li><li>LinkedIn (2002) post bubble burst</li></ul>

The ones who survived.

Reframing advice from icons throughout history, including Ulysses S. Grant, Amelia Earhart and Steve Jobs, for today's world, this motivational guide shows readers how to overcome obstacles and turn them into advantages.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

books

Books

#1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller The Obstacle is the Way has become a cult classic, beloved by men and women around the world who apply its wisdom to become more successful at whatever they do. Its many fans include a former governor and movie star (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a hip hop icon (LL Cool J), an Irish tennis pro (James McGee), an NBC sportscaster (Michele Tafoya), and the coaches and players of winning teams like the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Cubs, and University of Texas men’s basketball team. The book draws its inspiration from stoicism, the ancient Greek philosophy of enduring pain or adversity with perseverance and resilience. Stoics focus on the things they can control, let go of everything else, and turn every new obstacle into an opportunity to get better, stronger, tougher. As Marcus Aurelius put it nearly 2000 years ago: “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”  Ryan Holiday shows us how some of the most successful people in history—from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs—have applied stoicism to overcome difficult or even impossible situations. Their embrace of these principles ultimately mattered more than their natural intelligence, talents, or luck. If you’re feeling frustrated, demoralized, or stuck in a rut, this book can help you turn your problems into your biggest advantages. And along the way it will inspire you with dozens of true stories of the greats from every age and era.

Ryan Holiday is media strategist for notorious clients like Tucker Max and Dov Charney. After dropping out of college at 19 to apprentice under the strategist Robert Greene, he went on to advise many bestselling authors and multi-platinum musicians. He is the Director of Marketing at American Apparel, where his work in advertising was internationally known. His strategies are used as case studies by Twitter, YouTube, and Google, and have been written about in AdAge, the New York Times, Gawker, and Fast Company. He is the author is *Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator*, which is due out in July. He currently lives in New Orleans, with his rebellious puppy, Hanno.