Tag Archive for perseverance

Are You Failing Forward?

May 22, 2012 Eric Deschamps One comment


Have you ever made serious mistakes in your life and business that cost you dearly? Have those mistakes ever left you feeling defeated and discouraged? Consider the following insurance claim filed by an injured bricklayer.

“Dear Sir,

I am writing in response to your request for additional information. In block number three of the accident reporting form, I put “poor planning” as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should explain more fully, and I trust that the following details will be sufficient.

I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a six-story building. When I completed my work, I discovered that I had about 500 pounds of brick left over. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them down in a barrel by using a pulley, which, fortunately, was attached to the side of the building at the sixth floor. Securing the rope at ground level, I went up the roof, swung the barrel out and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went back to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 500 pounds of brick.

You will note in block number eleven of the accident reporting form that I weigh 175 pounds. Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded upward at a rather rapid rate up the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming down. This explains the fractured skull and broken collarbone.

Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley. Fortunately, by this time I regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope in spite of my pain.

At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Without the weight of the bricks, the barrel now weighed approximately 50 pounds. I refer you again to my weight of 175 pounds in block number eleven. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building.

In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles and the lacerations on my legs and lower body. The encounter with the barrel slowed me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell onto the piles of brick, and fortunately, only three vertebrae were cracked.

I am sorry to report, however, that as I lay there on the pile of bricks, in pain, unable to stand, and watching the barrel six stories above me, I again lost the presence of mind AND I LET GO OF THE ROPE!”

The only true failure is the failure to learn from your mistakes! Like the bricklayer in our story, many people keep making mistakes over and over again because they fail to learn from their errors and adapt accordingly. This holds them back from reaching their full potential.

Successful people know that the pathway to success is often littered with failures and setbacks. But unlike the average person who gives up prematurely, successful people know how to turn adversities into advantages, problems into potential, and failures into feedback. This is called failing forward.

Too many people allow failure to DEFINE them rather than REFINE them. Failure is a moment in time, not a state of being. It is an opportunity to learn and grow and try again. It is a teacher and mentor, if we accept its help. It’s one thing to say, “I failed” and another thing altogether to say, “I am a failure.”

Many people have tried and failed. The only difference between losers and winners is that losers stop trying. They give in to defeat, and accept a passing setback to define them as a person. Successful people don’t allow their HISTORY to keep them from fulfilling their DESTINY.

The lessons that you learn from failure must not be forgotten or dismissed. The experience you gain will be invaluable to you in the future. That’s why failure should not be feared. It can play a crucial role in your success story, if embraced in the right spirit.

Remember, the worst failure is failure to try. Don’t let yesterday’s FAILURE bankrupt tomorrow’s EFFORTS. Theodore Roosevelt praised the man who…

“…if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly!”

Consider your latest setback. What important lessons can you draw from it that can help you do better next time? You won’t get it right every time, but “failing forward” can help you get maximum traction out of every failure in your personal and professional life.

 

Eric Deschamps, Business Coach – Ottawa

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The Success is in the DOING!

October 31, 2011 Eric Deschamps No comments

 

“Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.” ~ Charles F. Kettering

In last week’s blog post, I wrote about “The Power of Perseverance.” Let me probe a little further today…

Allow me to state the obvious. Success is only achieved if you possess the courage – the intestinal fortitude – to stick it out long enough to see your dreams become a reality. Dreaming about the future is one thing, but the secret to success is in the doing!

Your business started with an idea! You gathered all the needed information and created a your business plan. You committed to all kinds of fancy goals and strategies. But then came decision time. Would you go ahead and jump in with both feet or would you bail out because the venture appeared too difficult and too risky?

It is often at this stage that the greatest challenges emerge. In an age of “instant solutions” and “quick fixes”, many people expect results even before they start doing anything. They take a few steps and quit prematurely because they don’t experience phenomenal success immediately. They throw in the towel, wondering why their plan didn’t work. The real question is did they work the plan? Did they follow through? Did they persevere?

The secret to success is in the DOING and in the “KEEP DOING.” For how long? As long as it takes! What do you have to do to succeed? Whatever it takes!

Only you can decide how much time and energy you will invest to ensure that your goals are achieved. But once you have decided, make sure you FOLLOW THROUGH! Be true to yourself. Honour your word. Take action, and persevere. As in the story in last week’s blog post, don’t stop three feet short of the gold!

You may choose to follow someone else’s plan because they achieved success in an arena similar to yours. But remember: your outcome may look very different from theirs. You are unique. Only you can write your own story and create your own outcome. Whatever the outcome is, it’s an experience that was worth having. You either learned HOW TO DO something or HOW NOT TO DO something.

This doesn’t mean that you don’t need help from others. Actually, your learning and progress can often be greatly accelerated by the people you surround yourself with. However, don’t ever forget that the final buck stops with you.

Here is the simple truth, the SINGLE SOLITARY REASON why so few people ever achieve their dreams: they are simply UNWILLING to do whatever it takes, for however long it takes! Few people fail, many people quit, most people don’t even try! The secret to success is in the DOING! In the words of NIKE, JUST DO IT!

Here’s something to consider…

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” ~ Teddy Roosevelt

Get in the arena. Stay in the fight. Embrace the prize. Savour the victory.

Here’s to your success!

 

Eric Deschamps, Business Coach/Advisor – Ottawa, Canada

Business Effectiveness, Perseverance, Personal Effectiveness, Success, Uncategorized , , , , , , , ,