So, are you a survivor or victim of your circumstances?

When it comes down to it, it’s all about mindset. Do you have a fixed mindset – that of a victim? Or do you have a growth mindset – that of a survivor?

Wanna know how you can tell the difference? Read this article about the “surfer dude” who struggles to understand how he survived the 9/11/2001 attack on the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York City.

Which would you say he has – fixed or growth? What would you be doing or feeling if you were 1 of 2 people who survived that treacherous event?

Here are a few tips to figure out which side of the fence you’re on!

According to Carol S. Dweck, author of “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” – “the view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life.”

Fixed mindset:

• You create an urgency to prove yourself over and over.
• You believe everything is carved in stone
• You’re not friends with the thought of challenge
• You don’t value effort – things are as they are.

Growth mindset:

• You have a passion for stretching yourself even (or especially) when it’s not going well
• You thrive during some of the most challenging times in your life
• You crave and have a focus on development
• You surround yourself with people who just might be smarter than you

How You See Yourself

I list these points to see how you see yourself in the midst of adversity. Survivors have a growth mindset; victims a fixed one.

If you’re human like me, you’re a mixture of the two. And some days you have a bias one way or the other on any given day.

I Will Survive

Gloria Gaynor’s song “I Will Survive” is my anthem! I have and I will survive. Guess what? You can too!

I certainly did after many of my beloved clients died in the 9/11 Twin Towers collapse.

Prior to 9/11, I was a 6-figure success. After 9/11, I was a tearful doubter that success would ever brighten my door. I went back and forth between being fixed in my failure and growing in my faith to not only survive but to thrive in the midst of profound loss of people I respected and loved.

Leaders and Partners in Survival

If you are a formal or informal leader, and need or want a partner in survival, I’m here for you!

I know what it is to be flying high, hitting rock bottom, and then enjoying the journey back to the top again.

Pasquale Buzzelli: Victim or Survivor?

I think we can all learn from “surfer dude,” Mr. Pasquale Buzzelli’s journey from high to low to, as my Uncle Dan used to say, “steady getting up.”