Today I have a talk with Al Weatherhead, the author of The Power Of Adversity and chairman and CEO of Weatherchem, a private manufacturer of plastic closures for food, spice, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products. But, first of all, he is a 85 year-old businessman, who is still young in heart and mind.
So, let us start…
- Hello, Al! Tell us a few words about yourself.
- My name is Al Weatherhead and I’m the chairman and CEO of Weatherhead Industries, a private manufacturer of plastic closures for food, spice, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products. I am also the author of THE POWER OF ADVERSITY: Tough Times Can Make You Stronger, Wiser and Better.
I can sum up the theme of my book in ten words: We’re not meant to be happy. We’re meant to grow. Misfortune… Failure… Illness… It seems adversity is everywhere and we’re doomed to lives of frustration. I believe it needn’t be so, and I’m no stranger to adversity. I’ve endured – and surmounted – wrenching family estrangement, terrible arthritis, serious heart disease, and I’m a recovering alcoholic.My travails, instead of holding me back, spurred me on, until I came to see adversity as a “blessed enemy.” I now know that adversity is not a curse, but a gift… and that when we embrace adversity, we receive a tempering of body, mind and spirit that can empower us to achieve unimagined success.Today I am healthy and happily married to the woman of my dreams; a proud father and grandfather; CEO of a multi-million dollar company, and a thoughtful philanthropist. I have no doubt that I’ve achieved everything in my life not despite of adversity, but because of it.
In my book, I reveal how each of us can reach a greater understanding and mastery of life in all its wildness and goodness, by harnessing the power of adversity.
- When you were very young, did you have a goal in your life?
- As a child, dreaming in my father’s factory, I saw the camaraderie, respect, love and energy shared by Weatherhead employees. I watched, too, as my parents poured their lives into the company. All this created the heartbeat of that factory.
Then, with the death of my father, the Weatherhead Company developed a diseased heart. Mismanagement crushed the human endeavor upon which the factory thrived, as you and I thrive on clean air, water, nourishing food, a healthy heart and a happy soul.
I have since come to believe in both life and business that successful management is more like taking a pulse than taking inventory. After decades of leadership experience, I can now walk onto any factory floor and intuit its health from the spark, rhythm and air of its space.
I could share with you hundreds of stories of triumphs and failures throughout my life. But as my leadership matured and my creativity blossomed, I came to see failure not as a defeat but as learning one more way that something is not done. Such learning can be daunting, but it is the only way we can survive and thrive in both the personal and professional aspects of our lives.
- What inspired you to write THE POWER OF ADVERSITY?
- As readers of my book know, I’ve had my share of major adversity. I have been a drunk. I’ve endured failed business ventures… failed marriages… and I’ve suffered the terrors of clinical depression, crippling arthritis and terrifying heart disease.
There was a time in my life when I felt I had sunk as low as I thought one could go. Then things turned around for me. Why? This question tormented and fascinated me. What was I doing now in my life that I wasn’t doing when adversity was threatening to overwhelm me? How had I changed?
My introspection provided me with a sudden illumination. I realized that I had at some point recognized serious adversity for what it is: the natural order of life; that adversity is meant to act like a grain of sand inside an oyster and be an irritant in our lives that can stimulate us to create pearls.
Ultimately, I came to understand the power of adversity and some of the lessons it can teach us, starting with the all important truth that we are not meant, in the grand scheme of life, to be happy and comfortable. Rather, we are meant to forge our characters on the anvil of adversity.
Since then I’ve come to believe most of us experience monumental periods of adversity and it’s these devastating setbacks which propel us in our quest to become fully and creatively human. Sometimes we get stuck, so stuck, in fact, that only great pain will impel us to move. It’s then that the power of adversity is revealed.
But to see it requires a new way of looking at the world, a radical shifting of perspective. My book presents tips, advice and rules all of us can use to master the power of adversity for our own benefit and that of our families, friends, and mankind.
- Who do you think this book will help?
- The audience for THE POWER OF ADVERSITY is enormous. For starters, in my book I specifically discuss my personal experiences with arthritis, heart disease and alcoholism as examples of adversities that I have overcome using my unique self-help techniques. This makes my book of particular interest to the:
- 40 million Americans, or approximately 1 in 7 who have some form
of arthritis; - 65 million Americans who have been diagnosed with heart disease;
- 28 million Americans, or 43% of the adult population have been exposed
to alcoholism in the family; - 35 million Americans have experienced addictions to various drugs.
All of these people will find in my book inspiration, concrete lessons, and pragmatic advice on how to master the power of adversity to bring about wellbeing and success in life.
- What are you working on at the moment?
- In addition to mentoring management at my company as we develop new plastic closure products, I’m working on my next book, THE POWER OF ADVERSITY IN BUSINESS, in which I will share the secrets that allowed me to realize professional success in building my company, mentoring people within the business, and recruiting outside managerial talent.
- What advice would you give to our readers?
- The most important advice I can give is to take advantage of all the new opportunities presented in your personal unending stream – and infinite bounty – of adversity. Remember:
- Adversity is all powerful – either it creates misery or destroys it.
- Adversity will always hurt – it is up to us to transform that hurt into limitless freedom and positive transformation.
- Adversity is the bridge that can carry us to our future – where we can live fully, bravely and meaningfully in the world.
Approach your adversity with enthusiasm and a “can-do” positve spirit and you’ll be buoyed along the river of life with its inevitable daily surprises – good and bad.
Keep in mind that no life is perfect. No life can be. Adversity still haunts and taunts me. But I will never let it suck me back into the shadows.
I implore everyone to continue to grow by taking advantage of all the new opportunities presented to them via their own, personal unending stream – and infinite bounty – of adversity.
- Thank you so much for the interview, Al! Wish you success in your business!
