Every disadvantage has its advantage.

TED LASSO

We are so quick to lament the variables that hold us back. 

They are an assault on our dreams. A barrier to our hopes and expectations. A source of disappointment, frustration and aggravation. 

But… what if they are all components of creating all that is required to actually leverage that advantage?

I could point you to a quadriplegic I know of who discovered an innate ability to become a successful painter, after becoming quadriplegic. Or a person who was determined to be a successful athlete, only to suffer an irreparable injury and find their calling as a symphony violinist. 

Did these people need to have these horrible setbacks to find their true talent? Perhaps. We will never know. 

But what we do know is that upon arrival at such a dark chapter in their life, they found the courage to leverage their resources and summon energy to rise above the injury and find a path of brilliance, nonetheless.

There have been enormous setbacks in the creation of Sizzle. Times of quiet desperation in which we have all wondered if there would even be a tomorrow. And yet, as I look back on some of the doors that closed in our respective faces, I can point to the turmoil and tribulations that would have accompanied what had appeared at face value to be a golden opportunity. And I can breath much easier knowing that these events did not transpire, no matter how inviting they appeared at the outset.

If you have not watched Ted Lasso, you must. It is perhaps one of the greatest comedies ever written for television. It is charming, poignant, thought provoking and it will seduce you one episode at a time. Now that Chris has come back for the summer, he and I have been watching it weekly and greatly enjoying the beautiful ballet of circumstances, characters, conflicts, comedic interludes and life lessons that this brilliant show has to offer. I predict it will do remarkably well in the Emmy Awards this season!!

When life interrupts your fantasy with a cold reality, perhaps a dose of Ted Lasso’s unfailing optimism is exactly what you need at that moment. Perhaps a choice of not seeing the dark chapter for what it is, but instead, seeing it as a doorway that empowers you to go the extra distance in a different direction is exactly what you need at that moment.

Because for some of us, the unflinching optimism is all we have to hold onto when life becomes overwhelming and only our internal resilience and determination will carry the day.

Happy Monday!

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Written by Brian Weiner
When I was 5 years old, I discovered that the lemon tree in the backyard + dixie cups + water and sugar and I was in business. I have been hooked on that ever since. In 1979, I borrowed $14,000 to create a brand new product... photographic greeting cards with no text on the inside, called Paradise Photography. That was the start of The Illusion Factory. Since then, The Illusion Factory has been entrusted by all of the major studios and broadcasters with the advertising and marketing of over $7 billion in filmed, live, broadcast, gaming, AR, VR and regulated gaming forms of entertainment, generating more than $100 Billion in revenue and 265 awards for creativity and technology for our clients. When I took a break from film school at UCLA to move to Hawaii, my mother did not lecture me. Instead, she took 150 of her favorite aphorisms and in her beautiful calligraphy, wrote them artistically throughout a blank journal. That is the origin of the Lessons from the Mountain series. Since then, on my journeys to the top of a mountain to watch the sunrise, I have spent countless hours contemplating words of wisdom from the sages of all races, genders and political persuasions, constantly accumulating the thoughts to guide me on my life path. I hope you enjoy my books. Please let me know your thoughts, as I highly value your feedback!