T. Boone Pickens was an inspiring man. What’s more, he took a flexible approach to solve problems when he found himself up against a wall. In fact, he built the largest independent oil company in the United States (BP Capital) and flourished as an entrepreneur after leaving it. Financial World named him “CEO of the Decade” in 1989 and the Oil & Gas Journal listed him as one of the “100 Most Influential People of the Petroleum Century”.
During the span of his career, he made hundreds of millions of dollars for himself and others (more than $600m UD) and he supported medical research, athletics and academic projects. This letter was taken from the book “Letters From Leaders” compiled by Henry O. Dormann – it’s a very interesting read.
To Be Up Against A Wall – Letters From Leaders
“Number One: You have to stay in there and keep pitching. Someone once said to me, “Pickens, you just like to get your back against a wall to demonstrate that you can get off the wall.” Of course, I don’t like it, but I don’t find it all that uncomfortable to be up against the wall. I always know I’ll pull it out.
Don’t let anything overcome you. In the 1990s, I had a bout of depression. I never thought it would happen to me but it did. But I wasn’t depressed for very long. I was able to overcome it and without any reoccurrence. I cleared up some things in my life. If I couldn’t fix it I just moved on. I don’t spend a lot of time working on things I can’t fix.
Young people have to have self-confidence, especially if they get into a spot that requires a lot of fortitude to overcome. I’ve always had a lot of self-confidence.”
My Thoughts On Depression
If we think of emotions as energy in motion, then part of the experience of dark feelings is also the experience of light or joyful feelings. Moreover, if we look at the complete experience as a cycle, circle or sphere, there are many emotions on the way from dark to light and vice versa.
You can read more about my thoughts in my article here.
Find Out More About Working With Me
If you’d like to find out more about coaching with me, or if you’d like to arrange a call to see if we’re a good fit for one another, please send me an email to sarah@sarahmerron.com.
You can book coaching online here.
Find out about NLP Training here.
If you’re interested in group training and coaching, you can check out my Farcical Life Programmes here.
