The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was discovered by James Wilson Marshall at Sutter’s Mill, in Coloma, California. News of the discovery soon spread, resulting in some 300,000 men, women, and children coming to California from the rest of the United States and abroad. Of the 300,000, approximately 150,000 arrived by sea while the remaining 150,000 arrived by land.
The early gold-seekers, called “forty-niners,” (as a reference to 1849) traveled to California by sail boat and in covered wagons across the continent, often facing substantial hardships on the trip. There were many people who struck it rich by mining and there were even more who didn’t find an ounce of gold. Some people just gave up too soon, giving in to hardship, setbacks and obstacles in their way.
I would love to have a “Benjamin Franklin” for every time a “forty niner” gave up just feet or possibly inches away from the mother lode of gold. Sometimes we allow setbacks or obstacles to discourage us from continuing on. Sometimes we change course because of a big obstacle in our path. Then we discover later that the obstacle was a blessing in disguise.
Story. The Obstacles in your Path. In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been.
The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve your condition.
When you find obstacles in your path, continue forward and find the opportunities that come with the obstacle. There is always a learning experience with adversity and there is always a lesson learned that will take you to another level and to teach you a new skill.
Obstacles are there for a purpose. They are designed to test your perseverance and to take you to another level on your rise to success. When you come across an obstacle in your path, ask yourself a few questions.
- What is good about this obstacle or delay toward my success?
- What can I learn from this adversity?
- What is the nugget of ideas that I can take away from this challenge?
- How can I grow from this experience?
Make it a great day and stay connected.
Leo Llonch