A few weeks ago, I was rolling Jiu-Jitsu and pulled my hamstring mid-round.
Not bad enough to stop. But bad enough that I couldn’t play my normal game from the top.
I had to fight from the bottom.
Now here’s the thing – I hate the bottom. Always have. I’m built like a silverback gorilla from decades in the gym, and I prefer using that strength to dominate from the top position.
On top, I can use my weight, my power, my years of lifting heavy shit to control the fight.
But the bottom? The bottom requires technique. Patience. Finesse.
All the things that don’t come naturally to a guy who’s used to strong-arming his way through problems.
And if you know anything about Jiu-Jitsu, the bottom is where nobody wants to be. You’re pinned down.
You feel vulnerable.
You feel like you’re losing even when you’re not.
But there I was, stuck in the worst position possible – the one place where all my natural advantages meant nothing.
Now I’m a firm believer that sometimes God gives you chicken sh!t so you can learn to make chicken salad.
For me, that chicken sh!t was a pulled hamstring forcing me to work on the one part of my game I suck at.
So I stayed. Changed my strategy completely. Started working submissions from the bottom instead of trying to muscle my way back on top.
And I ended up having one of my best rounds in months.
I share this with you because life works exactly the same way.
Most men get handed chicken sh!t and immediately start complaining about the smell.
But the winners? They start looking for the recipe.
You’re not always going to get dealt the perfect hand. Plans fall apart.
Markets crash.
People let you down.
Your body breaks down.
What separates the men who thrive from the men who fold isn’t avoiding the chicken sh!t.
It’s learning how to make chicken salad.
Here’s the recipe:
STEP 1: STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS
The moment you accept that this is what you’ve got to work with, you can start working with it. Complaining about your circumstances is like complaining about the weather – it’s a waste of energy.
STEP 2: FIND THE OPPORTUNITY IN THE MESS
Every setback has something useful buried in it. Maybe it’s teaching you patience. Maybe it’s forcing you to get creative. Maybe it’s showing you what you’re really made of.
STEP 3: GET TO WORK WITH WHAT YOU HAVE
You don’t need perfect conditions to win. You need to be resourceful with the conditions you’ve got. The best entrepreneurs I know built empires out of problems everyone else was running from.
STEP 4: STAY CALM UNDER PRESSURE
Panic makes terrible chicken salad. When everything’s falling apart, that’s when your composure matters most. Take a breath. Think clearly. Then act.
Make no mistake…
Life will hand you chicken sh!t.
But your ability to turn chicken sh!t into chicken salad is the difference between being a victim of your circumstances and being the master of them.
And the faster you learn this recipe, the faster you’ll realize that some of your biggest wins started with your worst days.
Talk soon,
Bedros Keuilian
P.S. The Squire Program teaches fathers and sons this exact skill together. How to adapt, overcome, and turn setbacks into comebacks.
Because when life tests your son, you want to know you’ve prepared him. And when life tests you, you want him to see how a man handles it.