Tag Archives: failure

Reach that Goal!

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“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try one more time” – Thomas Edison (1847-1931)


When Thomas Edison was inventing the electric light bulb he certainly had his work cut out for him. Believe it or not after trying 10,000 times he had still not got a working bulb. And his response to someone who suggested he had failed…? – ‘I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.’ What happened after that? He succeeded.

How many times would you try to make something work in your career, team or business? 2 or 3 times? 5 times? 10 times? Do you keep going with an idea for as long as Edison? Would you keep trying after all those ‘failures’?

No? Why not? Perhaps because most of us would lose faith in our idea or our ability to pull it off, lose motivation, decide it’s just not possible.

So what was Edison’s secret? How did he maintain his enthusiasm for and belief in his idea for so long and to such an outstanding level? How did he stay motivated?

First of all he must have truly believed his goal was possible for him to reach, he must have truly wanted to reach it and he must have known why he wanted to reach it.

Then there is a clue in that response ‘I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.’ Every time he tried a way that did not work he quite simply did not see that as a failure.

And he was right. It wasn’t a failure because he now knew one more way that did not work. He had gained knowledge from the attempt. Perhaps he might work out one reason why it did not work and make an alteration accordingly for the next attempt. And that would take him one step closer to his goal.

And that’s one of the key messages here. It’s not just ‘don’t give up – keep going’, but also crucially ‘if it’s not working change the way you’re doing it!’ After all if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got.

So if you’ve been struggling to see eye to eye with a member of staff – change your approach. If you are consistently unable to get out of the office before 7pm every night – make changes to your working methods. If your team aren’t all pulling together in the same direction – make changes to your management style.

Think of something you are struggling with at the moment and ask yourself the following questions:

* ‘What is stopping me from moving forward with this?’ Make a list.

* ‘What are the possible ways round the obstacles?’ Make a list.

* ‘What could I try differently this time?’ Make a list.

* ‘What am I going to try differently this time?’ Commit to taking action and give yourself a realistic but challenging deadline for it.

And if you reach the point of giving up remember another gem from Thomas Edison… ‘Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.’

© Emma Wortt of Em-powering Executives, 2009. All Rights Reserved. Em-powering Executives help leaders and their teams to achieve excellence through executive coaching and training. To receive similar articles direct to your inbox, you can subscribe to the FREE monthly Em-powering Executives newsletter at http://www.em-poweringexecutives.co.uk

What to Do if You Ever Feel Discouraged

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If you ever feel discouraged (and who hasn’t at some time or another?) there are plenty of ways to move beyond it. You can make it a temporary “blip” in time rather than a downward pull of emotional quicksand. Here are some ways of transforming your darkness into light.

Remember Abraham Lincoln

You may not know this, but Lincoln was a failure as a soldier, a businessman, a lawyer, and even a politician. He was defeated in five elections. He told a friend he was the “most miserable man living.” Then he finally won an election. And the rest is literally American history. There are stories of others who kept on failing until one fateful day it all turned around. Did you know that 27 publishers rejected Dr. Seuss’s first book, To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street?” 18 publishers rejected Richard Bach’s book Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Then it sold 7 million copies. You may be next.

Wait. It All May Shift in an Instant

You may not know when your time will come, but it may be in a few seconds, hours, days, or weeks. Do you believe in Divine Timing? Is there a perfect time for your destiny to be realized? Perhaps this is so, and whatever you’re waiting for may be in preparation for you now. How many people have jumped ship just before the perfect opportunity came to them?

Remember It Hasn’t “Turned Out” Yet

Have you ever wondered why it all “turned out” the way you think it has? “Why have I ended up like this?” you may ask yourself. But look at this with greater perspective. You’ll see that it hasn’t “ended up” at all. You’re on a path, still walking along, not at the end – but on the way. No one said it was supposed to be a smooth and easy path. Perhaps it has a lot of twists and turns. Maybe there are some bramble bushes along the way. Remember that you’re still traveling, and a bright light can appear on the road at any moment.

See the Larger Picture

If you can stand way back from the experiences you’re having at the moment, you may see that there’s a larger purpose in you’re being exactly where you are at the moment. It may be what Barack Obama calls a “teachable moment.” You may be gathering characteristics of strength, compassion and wisdom. You may be learning that your setbacks and challenges are actually advantages. Maybe you’re not supposed to be with that person in the long run. Maybe a different life path is calling you. Maybe you’re learning to be resilient enough to flow with any setback that comes along the way.

Remember It’s All Perception, Not Reality

What if the world as you see is not the true reality? What if this life is “but a dream?” What if you could go beyond the success/failure paradigm, beyond everything you’ve believed to be true about success and failure – and you could pierce through the clouds of illusion to see that you are now and always have been magnificent, brilliant, and radiant at your essence? Here you are connected with the enlightened point of view. You’re not stuck in realities that have been programmed into your awareness about what you “should or should not” be or do or have. You feel happy no matter what’s happening in the reality you perceive, happy because you live in a state of gratitude for everything you have and all that you already are.

Want to learn more about life transformation, spiritual growth, and healing? Get our 100 page free ebook, Extraordinary Healing, at http://www.thewisemind.com . You can also subscribe to our wonderful free monthly newsletter, “The Transformation News.” Marilyn Gordon is a board certified hypnotherapist, teacher, healer, and author.

Can I Fail My Way to Success?

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1142247_loveFailure is seen as a dirty word in our society. People are praised and lionized when they are successful. But let a public figure make a serious mistake and that’s another story. They are considered has-beens and also-rans. We idolize the “successes” and we mock those who “fail”.

But what if failure is part of the process of achieving your goal? What if we took another look at failure, gave it a different definition?

Webster’s dictionary defines failure as “an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose”. The Oxford dictionary defines failure as a “lack of success in doing or achieving.”

However, these definitions raise an important question. Is someone a failure because they haven’t achieved success in their business? Did the event fail or is the person a failure? Should they let the event or situation define their value and worth as a human being?

Your perspective changes everything. So what’s the option? How else can you view your lack of business success?

John C. Maxwell, in his book, “Failing Forward” states that “Every successful person is someone who failed, yet never regarded himself as a failure.” He cites Albert Einstein, one of the greatest thinkers of our time, who was told by a Munich schoolmaster that he “would never amount to much.”

Maxwell encourages you to “Tell yourself, ‘I’m not a failure. I failed at doing something.” You need certain abilities in order to have a healthy view of failure. You must first reject rejection. Instead of taking failure personally, take responsibility for your actions and learn from the situation.

Achievers also see failure as a temporary situation. They don’t think it’s a permanent event. Consequently they think creatively about the challenge that they face and identify possible solutions.

Successful people have realistic expectations for their goals. They accept their setbacks and learn from them. They persevere despite the setbacks.

Achievers also focus on their strengths. They focus their energy on what they can do instead of complaining about what they can’t do. They develop their strengths.

As you consider a failure that you face, ask yourself “What can I learn from this situation?” Is there another perspective to consider? What are your successes in the situation? What did you do well? What could you improve?

As you evaluate the situation, think about how you can build up your strengths. Also, consider if there is someone who could help you in your weaknesses. Create an action plan with that person and take the first step.

As you change your perspective and take action, you are failing forward. You are using failure to create great success. You are a winner!

Andrea Scott is a joyful internet marketing entrepreneur who shows others how to have a successful online business. To find out how to have an online business that generates a 6-figure income in your first year, click here

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