Celebrate Great Rides

You have been preparing for months. You are in position and you are ready. A swell develops and begins to transform before your very eyes. A monster wave is now bearing down upon you. Your training and instincts kick in as you paddle to meet the motion of your wave. The wave tries to bully you showing it is a fierce competitor. You apply all of your skill and training as you find yourself dropping nearly straight down a mountain of angry water. You maintain your balance and you handle your wave with great skill and superb style. You barely avoid the hazards and have several moments of truth where even in your confidence you are not completely sure you are going to make it. But you do make it. You ride through to where the wave finally breaks taking you elegantly to the shore like royalty arriving on a red carpet.

What if this happened and you had no one to share it with? You might not really be an ocean surfer, but I am certain you have days like this no matter what you do. When you have a great ride, it is important to reflect and share with your team. This is just as important as when things go bad or you have a wipe out.

Celebrate great rides and build on each other's successes. Learn from each other and discuss what you can learn from your victories as well as your setbacks and defeats. Look at what you can learn and apply to other areas of your life and your business. Use the adrenaline boost from your great rides to give you momentum and victories to build from.

Use Mistakes and Setbacks to Build and Strengthen Your Team

Reread the paragraph under Celebrate Great Rides inserting the following alternate ending.

?Just as you think you have made it, you lose your balance and wipe out in spectacular fashion. You are now under the water with the force of the angry ocean churning you over and over. Your lungs feel like fire and you are not even sure which way is up. A brief moment of panic starts to turn into terror as you begin to question your very survival. Out of the darkness, you begin to see light and your air bubbles. You begin to follow your bubbles up and just when you think you are about to lose your air, you break free of the ocean's grip and fresh oxygen replenishes you burning lungs.

Every person and every team who has any ambition will experience frustration, setbacks, defeat and sometimes worse. Great rides are what you shoot for, but every wipe out you survive provides you with experience and perspective. Our difficulties and our failures give us a gift to learn and benefit from.

Make no mistake you will wipe out. The only way to not wipe out is to never challenge the surf and to never leave you comfort zone. The results of not trying are far worse over time than failing forward. Apply the Stack Strategy to accept feedback and correct course any and every time you have a setback or wipe out. Do an after action report and work with your team to learn and apply to the future.

"Failure without learning is still failure. Failure with learning is experience!"

This article is an excerpt from Franks latest book, Carpe Aqualis! set to come out this August.

Frank F. Lunn is an expert in leadership, marketing, and small business entrepreneurship. In his book, Stack the Logs! - Building a Success Framework to Reach Your Dreams, Frank outlines a simple 5-step strategy that will lead you to success in all areas. Find more useful article by Frank at http://www.stackthelogs.com

Note: This article may be reprinted as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the about the author information), and a copy of your reprint is sent to tim@stackthelogs.com.

---

Defining Success

I'll be the first to admit that everyone has his... Read More

The First And Inevitable Step To Success

Many people ask me how they can be more successful.The... Read More

Ingredients For Success

Management by Objectives, strategic planning, quality, teams, re-engineering. Passing management... Read More

Authentic Success

A More Effective WayI own a stack of self improvement... Read More

The Fastest Way to Success

Your mind is the only tool that can create success... Read More

The Bulging Right Pocket

It was one of the worst periods of time in... Read More

Six Steps to Personal Success

Trying to keep up with the Jones only drags good,... Read More

Empowering Other People

Everything you will ever have and accomplish in life will... Read More

The Gift Of Success

Often just one self-help principle can increase your power to... Read More

Three Keys to Greatness

Ten years ago I went into the studio and recorded... Read More

Think Yourself To Success

-- The One Pager Shortcut Series --What are the sharpest... Read More

How to Maintain Your Energy and Enthusiasm in Your Career: Needs versus Wants!

Most of my clients had a vision of the contribution... Read More

Becoming a Success Giant!

IntroductionSuccess - we all read about it, hear it on... Read More

8 Ultimate Secrets Skyrocket Your Success!

Whenever I ask people this question, "what do you really... Read More

Back-Planning For Success

Coming up with new dreams and passions can be fun,... Read More

Self Growth - How to Overcome Your Critics

They all know it's part of the success journey.They know... Read More

So What is Success Anyway?

Well I'll tell you what it's not. Even thought many... Read More

Have You Planned Your New Years Revolutions?

Revolution:a sudden, radical, or complete change a fundamental change in... Read More

Achieve Success Now - What Are You Waiting For?

Are you ready to finally realize your dream? I'm talking... Read More

Today I Choose

Here is a great way to create affirmations that may... Read More

Your Money or Your Life!

Quote of the month: Am I working to live or... Read More

100 Top 2004 Secrets to Success

After all the things I have shared with you this... Read More

How Do You Spell Success

A person who is illiterate can look at a word... Read More

Evaluating Your Associations (Part One)

If you were to evaluate the major influences in your... Read More

Three Things You Must Know to Attract Success

Everyone wants success.Some people spend their every waking moment pursuing... Read More

Discipline

I've been thinking a lot about what I believe to... Read More

Communication and Communication Skills - Understanding Your Audience

Response means "to answer" and that idea, in its purest... Read More

3 Powerful Tips to Help You Have Your Best Year Ever

Here are 3 powerful steps you can take to free... Read More

Winning: Defining It - Achieving It

If you ask most people whether they would like to... Read More

The Failure Misconception

Most dictionary entries would define failure as the simple lack... Read More

My Top 10 Quotes for Living Well!

Over the years many people have offered their models of... Read More

A Century of Hope

What would one initially think about someone who dropped out... Read More

Measure Effort To Achieve Success!

Let's say you're moving forward in your efforts to achieve... Read More