You might have heard of Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel, The Count of Monte Cristo 📖
It’s about an innocent young man (Dantes) who is betrayed by a jealous rival and spends 14 years in prison, much of it in isolation.
Eventually he escapes, finds a hidden treasure, and returns home to exact his revenge 🔥
While in prison, Dantes befriends a wise and industrious old priest who has been in captivity for many years.
After getting to know him well, Dantes says to the priest…
I was reflecting, in the first place, upon the enormous degree of intelligence and ability you must have employed to reach the high perfection to which you have attained. What would you not have accomplished if you had been free?
The priest replies…
Possibly nothing at all; the overflow of my brain would probably, in a state of freedom, have evaporated in a thousand follies; misfortune is needed to bring to light the treasures of the human intellect. Compression is needed to explode gunpowder. Captivity has brought my mental faculties to a focus; and you are well aware that from the collision of clouds electricity is produced — from electricity, lightning, from lightning, illumination.
Sure, being in prison sucked.
But the priest saw that there were some advantages to his situation, compared to being a free man, and he sought to exploit them.
Might be a good thing to keep in mind when you’re going through a tough time yourself 🤔
In the words of Napoleon Hill…
Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.
Written by 
