Imagine hiking through a dense wilderness and suddenly stumbling upon a secret cave. Inside, you discover an old treasure chest—filled with gold, diamonds and precious stones. An unbelievable treasure that can change your life forever!

While very few have experienced such an exciting discovery, a treasure of infinitely greater value waits for any who employ it—resourcefulness.

Why is resourcefulness so valuable? Because it is the ability to quickly, and often cleverly, find ways to overcome difficulties and problems.

David C. Pack outlines why this quality is vital in the booklet The Laws to Success: “While it is important to anticipate unexpected roadblocks…it is not nearly as important as demonstrating the resourcefulness to surmount them…This takes determination and the willingness to think through…the various possible solutions—that can be applied so that you can progress toward your goal.”

History shows resourcefulness has separated ordinary people from those considered extraordinary. It has been applied to get people out of tight spots when the line between life and death was mere seconds, as in the near-fatal Apollo 13 mission.

Many famous people reached their status because they employed resourcefulness. Retail legend Sam Walton, the man behind Wal-Mart superstores, is a perfect example. Growing up during the Great Depression, he milked the family cow then bottled and sold the surplus. Later, he took control of the retail sales market by selling merchandise people could afford. He was also among the first to introduce a “profit sharing” plan for his employees, which greatly contributed to Wal-Mart’s continuing success.

Mr. Walton took what was already in existence, large retail stores, and figured out a way to improve upon the concept and bring it to small towns across America. By doing so, he became the second-richest man in the world.

Herbert W. Armstrong, the 20th-century leader of the Church, also applied resourcefulness to achieve success in the advertising business, learning how to deal with people and influence others. In his autobiography, he stated, “You must not antagonize those whom you expect to persuade.” Rather, he said you must “approach them from their point of view—not from yours, especially if your viewpoint is contrary to theirs. To win them to your point of view, you must approach them from their viewpoint.”

The resourcefulness Mr. Armstrong learned in advertising later became invaluable in preaching Christ’s gospel to the world.

Greatest Resource

The Bible also gives many examples of resourcefulness.

On one occasion, Jesus praised an unjust steward—not because he was unjust—but because he had devised a clever way to get out of his dire predicament (Luke 16:1-8).

In another instance, the Jews were waiting to kill the apostle Paul. But a resourceful person quickly formed a plan to help him escape by lowering him down the side of a wall in a basket (Acts 9:24-25).

In Mark 2:1-5, Jesus was preaching inside a crowded house. A severely disabled man, who desired to be healed, could not get through the doorway. The man’s friends cut an opening in the roof and he was gently lowered into the house, right in front of Jesus. The man was healed immediately and then praised by Jesus for his inventive demonstration of faith.

Self-employment

One of the best ways to quickly learn resourcefulness is through self-employment. Even while thousands are being laid off, an enterprising individual can often create his own job. The opportunities are numerous.

Particularly lucrative opportunities exist in the service industry. Today, most people live in cities where both husband and wife must work, leaving precious little time to look after their homes. Here great opportunities await to begin a service business. Painting houses, window cleaning, and even pet sitting and dog walking are a few examples. Delivering groceries, driving seniors to their appointments, as well as lawn and garden services are other ideas.

Be creative!

Several years ago, one individual offered to haul away people’s trash. Today, he operates a large trash removal business. You could do the same!

I too experienced this effect after I began a small gardening service many years ago. At first, it was mainly cutting a few lawns, but it quickly developed into a full-time business requiring additional employees. It was a marvelous opportunity to learn resourcefulness, almost on a daily basis.

Devise Solutions

Many people do not take advantage of their resources and instead focus on their limitations, which become barriers to achievement. It is important to always come up with solutions rather than to simply complain about problems.

The Laws to Success summarizes how to tackle any obstacle:

“Every problem, difficulty, resistance, hurdle and roadblock that you face is…an opponent. Determine to out-think them! Look each one in the eye and say, ‘It’s you or me, friend—and it’s not going to be me!’ Practice this and you will get better at it. It will become more natural. Eventually, you will even find yourself thriving on it, enjoying the challenge of defeating enemies that want to defeat you. The ‘thrill of victory’ will begin to regularly replace the ‘agony of defeat’ that consumes so many people who do not know that they must apply calm, careful reason to problems in order to defeat them.

“Never forget: To achieve true success, practice resourcefulness!”