What is the secret sauce? Why do some people thrive and keep getting up and trying again and again? Why do some people try a couple of times and spend time making excuses? Is it how smart they are? Is it who you were born to? Is it just dumb luck? Is it your moral code? Is it wealth?
Turns out that the way you handle and adapt to failure and what it means to you has a huge impact on your level of success overall. So many people seem to achieve great things in the midst of the most horrendous of adversities while folks that have it all accomplish much of nothing.
Based on one of my fave leadership gurus, John Maxwell: The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure. And it is also true that in order to get good at something you may have to be really bad and try many times before you meet the level of success you are dreaming of.
Learning through our failures is data rich!!!! Apparently an art teacher thought so too and so he offered his art students an opportunity to choose the way they would be graded in his class. He gave his pottery class two options for their final grade. The first choice was to work on just one project and the whole grade would be based on how they did on this one piece of pottery. The second choice was that he encouraged the students to be graded by the pounds of art that they created. Their assignment was to create as many pottery works as possible. They would be graded on their overall work but mostly by their quality of work as they progressed.
I imagine that the wise art teacher knew going in that the 2nd group would end up with the higher grades. There are just some things, actually most things of value are only achieved and perfected with time and energy. The more we do something, the more we tell ourselves that we can do something and believe that we can, our brain takes notice. Our brains are so adept at believing what we tell them over and over and our body responds with what we do over and over.
Our professions are that way and there are things that we can not short change and there are few if any shortcuts to the best outcomes that we want in life. I have found that the more that I make friends with failure and how rich in information my failures have been in my life, the more I achieve.
So maybe let’s see if we can change our relationship with failure and treat it as a worthy friend with great information. Standing still and making no decisions at all is far worse than making a move and being wrong. At least in the being wrong there is valuable information on how to do it the next time around.
So here’s to mistakes and failures and second and third and as many tries as it takes to be great at what you were put here to do!!!
I am so proud of how you are running your business and how you are so great at helping each other!!!! The more you add value to the lives of others the more value that your life has!!!!
Grateful to you, so very grateful to you!!!!
Karen