Gifts Received From My Struggles

Some people believe that their struggles are actually gifts in disguise. A former executive of a large consumer products organization said it best when she told me: “From my perspective, every single bump in the road, slap in the face, knee in the back—every single one of those things was a fabulous gift.”

Last week, I had the opportunity to learn this first-hand.

The week started on a high note. I had written a blog article and it had just been posted on a prestigious leadership blog site. But my pride and elation were quickly deflated when I learned the article contained an error stemming from a faulty recollection of an event thirty years earlier. Unfortunately, the problem did not stop there. Despite my best fact-checking efforts, the mistake also appeared in my soon-to-be-released book—in the very first paragraph! The book had already been sent to the printer, and I shuddered to think about how the inaccuracy would be replicated 7,500 times, casting a shadow on nearly four years of work.

When I first discovered the error, it felt more like a horror than a gift. Even though I was embarrassed and ashamed, I knew I needed to put vanity aside and quickly address the problem. As soon as I took the most difficult steps, notifying the blog editor and my publisher, that’s when the gifts began to appear.

Instead of totally removing the article, the blog editor simply posted a correction. Of course, no one likes to correct an already posted blog. But, the fact that I had discovered the error myself and promptly notified the editor—rather than it being unearthed through a reader comment—made it easier to swallow.

Another miracle of sorts unfolded with my publisher, Berrett-Koehler. Instead of wringing their hands with accusations and blame, they quickly leapt into action. They discovered that the book had already been printed, but it had not yet been collated or bound—scheduled for binding that very afternoon. Had this come just one day later, the costs to fix the problem would have skyrocketed, and the entire launch schedule may have been placed in jeopardy. With the timely action, only a small portion of the book had to be reprinted and the launch could proceed on schedule.

I feel blessed to be part of a community that rallied so energetically to support me in my time of crisis. It felt like the entire team was behind me—everyone from copyeditors, to print layout specialists, to marketing professionals. Through the ordeal, I have grown to cherish and appreciate the genuine caring of these dedicated individuals and how we all worked together toward a common goal.

Reflecting on the tumultuous week, I remain awestruck by what led me to discover the error in the first place. The faulty recollection had remained latent in my book manuscript for nearly ten months. Then, on the very last day before all havoc would have broken loose, I was guided by a mindfulness meditation to send an email to a person I had not seen or talked to in over twenty-five years, setting in motion the chain of events I’ve just described. If that’s not a gift, I don’t know what is.