A friend of mine is going through some hard times in his business. Within six weeks, a key manager that he invested in left for another company. Seven clients in a declining industry cancelled their plans and dropped his monthly revenue by more than a hundred thousand dollars.

It sucks.

We’ve all experienced some form of this. Either through our choices, misfortune, or a combination of the two we experience challenge as a result of losing.

Winning is great. Winners are rewarded. People love winners and winning tends to accumulate advantages.

Losing is great too. Losing is the beginning of opportunity, learning, and growth. While winning’s rewards are visible and immediate, losing’s rewards are internal and hidden by time.

In response to his setbacks, my friend is investing in new industries, new channels, and altering his team so that no employee is a linchpin. He probably already knew that these things mattered, but experiencing the losses was the impetus for action. Not only will his business grow as a result, but his understanding of how to organize and operate it will deepen.

Today is November 10th. 247 years ago the Marine Corps was founded in a bar in Philadelphia.

In September of 1999, I signed up as a 0311, a Marine Corps rifleman. The night before I shipped out, I took the ASVAB, the military’s analog of SAT/ACT tests. I maxed out the score. The person managing the entry process told me, “It says here that you’re signed up for infantry. Are you sure you want to do that? With your scores you can do any job in the military.”

I stayed with my choice of the infantry because it was hard and had the opportunity for greater challenge. In four years, that challenge was fully realized with a symphony of pains, losses, frustrations, and failures. As a result, I grew and excelled.

I’ll always be grateful for the hardship that the Marine Corps offered me. The gifts that emerged from that suffering have served me well.

Happy birthday Marines!

“Success is as dangerous as failure….” – Tao Te Ching

Featured image is the logo for my unit, 2nd Battalion 3rd Marines. 2/3 fought in WW2, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Afghanistan, and Iraq and was decommissioned this year in January. The shipwreck I just dove in Thailand was built in Portland, Oregon and fought at Iwo Jima with 2/3 and may have carried Marines from my unit. One of the gifts the Marines gave me is a connection to a culture, people, and history.