The Unofficial Marine slogan “Improvise, Adapt and Overcome” is a mindset that allows Marines to deal with any physical, mental, or spiritual hardship.
Regardless of whom you are or what you do, your ability to put these three words into practice is the framework for achieving success in life.
Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome is a powerful way of thinking for anyone faced with an obstacle or a desired objective in life.
I learned the hard way that I cannot dance!
As a young man, I did what all my friends did on the weekend…we went to a club in a college town to meet girls.
Getting rejected when asking a person to dance was one thing, BUT being laughed at on the dance floor was a whole new level of embarrassment.
No amount of alcohol helped me on the dance floor!
No one wanted to dance with me after having to witness what my body did when the music played.
One woman told me that I looked like I was having a seizure on the dance floor!
The music moves me, BUT it moves me UGLY!
My initial plan of having a few drinks, asking a pretty girl to dance and having a fun evening blew up in my face every time
There are only so many times a person will endure this kind of torture.
I learned to Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome.
A reporter asked Mike Tyson whether he was worried about Evander Holyfield and his fight plan, he answered; “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
I was getting punched in the mouth every weekend, so I either learned to Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome or become a Monk!
The New plan I came up with I do not recommend, BUT it worked for me better than I could have ever hoped.
I did not know it at the time, but I was going to hit the Lottery!
Since dancing was not going to work, I decided to make sure that NO ONE would ask the girl I was interested in to dance.
I stood at the head of the long table that she and her girlfriend were sitting at and made sure no other guys asked her to dance.
This was something I was good at doing!
After a couple of hours of doing this, I finally worked up the courage to sit with them and bribe them with drinks.
I figured if I kept anyone from talking to her and busy drinking that I might have a chance of getting her number.
Like I said, this was NOT a great plan, but it’s been 38 years since that night, and she’s still talking to me and letting me buy her drinks!
Life is a battlefield of obstacles, hardships, unplanned events, and sometimes getting punched in the face.
Learning to use what the Marines do by Improvising, Adapting, and overcoming will lead you to success in any field.
Find Your Passion…Find Your Life!