Adam RicoPhilip Anschutz was in his mid-twenties when his father became ill and handed the family oil drilling business over to him. However, the once lucrative business was falling on hard times.
Then in 1967 Philip struck oil in Wyoming which allowed him to buy up the surrounding oil leases on credit. Things were really good.
However, one day a spark set all the oil fields on fire.
With oil fields engulfed in flames most people would have been frozen with hopelessness.
However, rather than dwell on the certain bankruptcy that was awaiting him, Philip Anschutz looked for the opportunity this fire had presented.
At about this same time Universal Pictures just happened to be shooting a movie called Hellfighters. This movie starred John Wayne as Paul “Red’ Adair the legendary oil-field fire fighter.
Digital special effects weren’t possible back then, so the movie production studio needed some footage of a real oil field on fire.
Philip Anschutz contacted Universal Pictures and cut a deal with them to film his fiery oil fields for $100,000.
Now Anschutz had the money to hire the real Red Adair to put the fires out.
The Wyoming oil fields went on to make him lots of money and Philip Anschutz sold his oil fields to Mobil for half a billion dollars in 1982. He began buying railroads and started laying fiber optic cables along his rail lines.
He then began investing in entertainment companies, co-founding Major League Soccer in the U.S. and now owns stakes in the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Kings and venues including the Staples Center, O2 Arena, and the Home Depot Center. He also invests in films such as The Chronicles of Narnia.
In 2010 Forbes ranked him the 34th richest person in the U.S. with an estimated net worth of $7 billion.
How many times have you felt hopeless or even angry when misfortune struck you?
Have you ever felt like circumstances have created a hopeless situation for you?
What does this turn of events make possible for you now?
Maybe you were recently laid off or had a business failure. Or perhaps you’ve been doing the same type of work for a number of years but feel stuck and don’t know what else you want to do.
Life can deal us trials and suffering, but those who are on the look out for opportunities in those misfortunes can see them more quickly than others.
When you set your sights on looking for opportunities no one else sees you are bound to find them.
It’s kind of like when you buy a particular kind of car you begin to see them on the road everywhere. They were always there you just weren’t looking for them.
Although you may feel hopeless in your current work situation, try to look at this time in your life as an opportunity to re-evaluate what is important to you. Not only in your career but in your life as well.
Sometimes feeling discontent is the motivation we need to begin looking for better ways to live and work.
Question: What are some ways we can use a crisis to springboard us to higher levels of success?
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