Crystle Stewart, Miss USA 2008, the USA entrant in to the 2008 Miss Universe pageant, provides an excellent example of turning a problem into an Opportunity. She tripped over some beads on her dress during the judging process which would be considered by most as a very embarrassing and unfortunate event.
Imagine working for months and maybe years to get to a very important time and event and then something goes terribly wrong in front of millions of viewers! Well let’s consider how Miss USA handled it.
She is a motivational speaker and gives a character education program in a New York City school. She said she plans to turn her mishap into a lesson.
“I’ll be talking to my students about it when I get back,” she said. “Sometimes you fall in life, not just in the pageant but financially or emotionally. It’s not about the fall but how you pick yourself up.” How true! She is determined not to let the bad situation or ridicule bring her down. She will use this as an opportunity to help others.
Later she said:“I know I’ll get through it and that there are bigger and better things to come.” Those bigger and better things might very well come from the grace and generosity with which she handled this problem. But even if nothing else comes of that she has honored her loved ones and all of us by the way she handled herself.
Thank you Miss USA for a sparkling example!
Jerry W. Willis