Analyze top achievers and you’ll notice a common denominator: resilience to stress and adversity. Unexpectedly, one of the most remarkable discoveries about adversity comes from Biosphere 2, the artificial eco-system in Arizona. Scientists discovered that without pressure, force and wind velocity- in other words, stress – the trees growing inside the glass dome cannot mature. They collapse under their own weight.

This discovery reveals an underlying principle: Adversity creates resilience and lack of adversity creates weakness. Omer Bloch, CEO and founder of the international recruitment agency FAVA, is no stranger to adversity. What many would consider unwanted hurdles have only served to hone his achievements.

Relocating from Israel to the US when he was eleven years old, Omer was suddenly thrust into a different culture and a new language. His parents were of modest means, but moved into a high-end neighborhood in Georgia because they wanted their son to attend a superior school and get a first-rate education. “As far as my family was concerned,” Omer recalls, “I could only become a doctor or a lawyer. That was their sole definition of success.”

Although he loved his family and wanted to please them, Omer was drawn to business and entrepreneurship. Not unexpectedly, this caused all sorts of friction. “I was depressed, lost and confused,” he admits. “My parents knew no one who owned a business. In their opinion, it just wasn’t an option.”

Omer eventually dropped out of college. With less than $200 to his name, he traveled half-way across the country for a promising job offer he barely understood. Fortunately, Omer’s employer saw him as a diamond in the rough. After three years of training, dedication and hard work, Bloch not only rose to the top of that company’s high-ticket sales team, but was ready to launch his own enterprise.

The stress of arriving in a new country, the academic pressure from his family, and the adversity of financial insecurity only deepened Omer’s commitment to become a entrepreneur. Unlike the trees protected in the Biosphere, exposure to life’s hurdles strengthened his resilience, priming him for success. Bloch was pressure-tested and won.

Today, Omer Bloch’s prominent recruitment agency, FAVA, is experiencing quantum quarterly growth. Reconciled with his family, they are extremely proud of his accomplishments. “Accept life’s hurdles as part of the journey and lean into adversity,” encourages Bloch. “Coping with pressure helps you develop the resilience to achieve your goals.” By accepting hurdles as a catalyst of progress, we can stop worrying about them and start using them to our advantage.