Obstacles Welcome: How to Turn Adversity into Advantage in Business and in…

Obstacles Welcome by Ralph de la Vega is an inspiring and motivational book about how a young refugee came to the United States alone from Cuba. He came to Miami and was taken in by a young married couple, Arnaldo and Ada Baez. Ralph did not see his parents until he had been in Miami for 4 years. He decided as a young boy that being negative was not going to be an option for him. He learned at a young age how to overcome adversity and be successful in his life.

The message in this story is how we can overcome most any obstacles that enter our lives. Obstacles can be opportunities for us to grow in our professional and private lives. Basicly if we want to be successful we need to learn new ways and unlearn things that are creating obstacles in our lives. I think the phrase "think outside of the box" works well for all of us and a good leader has to have a vision and be able to get his people to own that vision so they all can be successful.

I have read a few motivational books and I found that this one was very easy to read and understandable in what Ralph was trying to get across. Communication, enpowerment, maximizing the potential of people around you as a leader is a way for any company and staff to be successful. A leader has to be able to "talk the talk and walk the walk" and take obstacles and turn them into opportunities for improvement.

I liked the graphics that are scattered in the book. These pictures showed the message that Ralph was trying to get across to the reader and the summing up at the end of each chapter as takeaway messages from that chapter. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to make a difference in their personal and professional lives. ( )