Adversity Equals Opportunity: Lessons from Chapter 1
By Chuck Cuda
This blog kicks off a new series where I’ll be breaking down Ego Strength chapter by chapter, pulling out the lessons that shaped me the most. Some of these stories you’ll recognize from the book, others are the behind-the-scenes details that didn’t all make it in. Either way, they’re the raw pieces of what built me and maybe, they’ll spark something for you too.
I’ll start with this: there are no shortcuts in life. If you think there’s a get-rich-quick scheme or an easy way to make money, it’s not real. That was one of the hardest lessons I learned early on, and Chapter 1 of Ego Strength is filled with my trial-and-error attempts to learn it. The truth is simple: what you focus on expands. If you pour your energy into gambling, your life will revolve around gambling. If you focus on work, discipline, and getting better every day, you’ll grow in the right direction. Success is simple, not easy.
I grew up watching ambition firsthand between my dad and my uncle. My dad owned a restaurant, and when he lost it in a fire, he didn’t curl up, he just moved on to the next deal. My uncle gave me work, and even if I screwed it up and lost the job, I learned quickly that opportunity was always out there if I was willing to grind. That’s the foundation of this chapter: adversity equals opportunity. As long as you’re still standing, there’s a path forward.
That mindset carried into my first big hustle, hanging Christmas lights. My friend Trenton and I started stringing them up for fun, but when I realized people were paying $300 a house, I jumped in with both feet. In two months, I made $20,000. At first, I took all the money upfront, which was a rookie mistake. People would call in April asking me to take their lights down, and I’d already spent the cash and had no incentive to go back and finish the job. That’s not a sustainable business or a way to keep repeat customers. Eventually, I figured it out. Holding back part of the payment until takedown kept me accountable and gave me steady cash flow later. It was a crash course in service, organization, and risk-reward.
That hustle sparked something that has stayed with me my whole life. I’ve always found ways to turn problems into businesses. If I needed something, I’d build it. Not just for myself, but because I knew others would need it too. That’s how I started my construction company, my property management business, and eventually expanded into healthcare and beyond. One business grew into the next because I wasn’t afraid to see the gaps and fill them.
Of course, Chapter 1 isn’t just about entrepreneurship, it’s also about loyalty. Early on, I thought loyalty meant protecting others even if it hurt me. Over time, I’ve realized it’s bigger than that. Loyalty is about showing up, helping people grow, and finding ways to support them. Sometimes that looks like driving a vending route for a friend’s family, and sometimes it looks like connecting that same friend to business opportunities years later. Loyalty evolves, but it always matters.
The other side of Chapter 1 is harder. Gambling was my outlet for a long time. It fed my competitive drive, but it also became destructive. I had to learn that an addictive personality isn’t all bad, it just has to be channeled. If you take that compulsive energy and direct it into something productive, it can fuel your growth instead of tearing you down. The key is being intentional, charting how you spend your days, and having the humility to cut out what’s not serving you.
One of the hardest lessons came when I went to jail. At the time, I thought I was doing well. I was in the top 5% of earners. But sitting there, I realized I wasn’t in the top 5% of people. I had been selfish, a worse son, brother, boyfriend and friend than I wanted to admit. It humbled me in a way I needed.
When I look back on Chapter 1, the most important lesson isn’t the money I made or lost, the businesses I started, or even the mistakes. It’s watching my dad’s grit. Seeing him lose everything and keep going gave me the foundation for resilience. It taught me that no matter how messy things get, you always have the chance to rebuild.
So if someone came to me after reading Chapter 1 and said, “I messed up, I think I’ve gone too far,” I’d tell them this: you’re still here. As long as you’re on this side of the ball, you still have an opportunity to change.
That’s the heart of Ego Strength. Adversity equals opportunity. And as we keep moving chapter by chapter, I’ll share how those lessons carried me forward, mistakes, grit, and all.
If you haven’t yet grabbed your copy of ego strength, you can do it now at EGO STRENGTH By. Chuck Cuda