by Bob Losey, Source Data Products, ASCDI Member Blog
Ever notice how our journey toward our goals may not be as easy as expected. Even so, the twist and turns we face are what make it worthwhile.
Some of the greatest successes are by people who dared to fail. They just NEVER gave up!
Thomas Edison’s teacher told him he was “too stupid to learn anything.” He was fired from his first two jobs for being “non-productive.” As an inventory, Edison made over 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at creating the light bulb. When a reporter asked, “How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?” Edison responded, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 1,000 ways that won’t work.”
I like an expression from Confucius, “Our greatest glory is not in never failing but in rising every time we fall.”
Some people respond to a crisis by being overwhelmed by stress which turns to fear. It is easy to get afraid when you have a crisis situation, professional or personal. But if you remain braced and calm, your friends and colleagues will too, and together a strong team is able to turn anything around.
Consider that Fred Smith, the founder of FedEx, received a “C” on his college paper detailing his idea of a reliable overnight delivery service. His professor at Yale told him, “Fred, the concept is interesting and well formed, but in order to earn better than a “C” grade, your ideas also have to be feasible.”
Also, Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because “he lacked the imagination and had no good ideas.” He went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland. In fact, the City of Anaheim rejected the proposed park on the grounds that it would only attract riffraff.
From rejection to workplace screw-ups, everyone has experienced that all-too-familiar, gut-wrenching numbness. The great paradox is that the people who enjoy the most successes often endure the greatest failures.
Common Sense Things To Remember
Stay confident in yourself when things don’t go as planned. We are all a work-in-progress. Take time to assess yourself and your behavior along the way so as not to become complacent.
Improve your relationships with people because it is your relationships with people that make you successful in life and business. If you discover that the same issues continue to arise, it’s time for some tough self-examination.
It takes hard work to make dreams into reality. If you set clear goals, have self-confidence to act and believe, you will succeed. Over time you will get where you want to go. Sitting still is easy. Make sure you look at all aspects of your life and make some changes.
Get regular exercise. The benefits are a sense of health and youthfulness, increased physical and mental energy, well-being, productivity, and success.
Out-learn and out–imagine the competition. Focus on learning and read voraciously. Be ready to try new ideas …. Sometimes the crazier the better. Differentiate yourself.
Get plenty of rest. To deal with stress, have time to decompress. Get 7-9 hours of good, rejuvenating sleep.
Ask. There are always people from who we can learn. Everyone has a mentor who helps them on their path to success. More often, many mentors. If you believe in yourself, no one is more qualified than you to jump on opportunities that come up.
Make time for your family. You don’t have to give up your personal life and enjoyment. Make a schedule that includes time for work and time for family – weekends away, hobbies, doing things together, and family life.
To reach for success and to overcome hardship or failures, we have to strive for the best we can be in every aspect of our lives, including how we feel about ourselves and how we treat others. If we are willing to try, to get back up after falling and we take advantage of opportunities, those bad moments can be nothing but a footnote in our success story.