Jim Rohn, the success guru and mentor, said, "Failure is a few errors in judgment repeated every day." The word to watch is "repeated."
Now there's a difference between temporary and permanent failure. We fail at many things in life; it's all part of our growth and development. A baby starts to walk and falls down, tries again, falls again. Eventually she walks. Failure evolves into success. You make an investment in a stock, based on the seller's advice. It turns out to be a dud. Failure here may teach you a lesson - a need to do more research on the stock, or on the seller ? or on both. You meet someone, fall in love, and get married within a month. Three months later you're in the middle of a divorce. Another failure with a lesson learned, hopefully.
Then there's permanent failure; he does the same thing over and over again and gets the same bad results. He earns the title, "Failure."
Everyone wants to know how to be successful, but not everyone is prepared to take the action required to do (or stop doing) what it takes to achieve success. We avidly devour books on success and motivation. They are some of the biggest sellers found in bookshops, usually listed under "psychology", "self-improvement", "management", or "business." People attend lectures and seminars by business and motivational speakers on how to be more accomplished, more productive, and more successful. They are impressed, inspired, and uplifted. But 80-90% of those people do nothing as a result of attending those events. They take no action to achieve what they know and believe should be done to change their circumstances for the better. How come?
Rather than spout off here about how to become successful, I'm going to talk about how you can become a failure ? a little reverse psychology. I can talk about this because I've been there and I've learned some tough lessons. Tom Peters said failure in itself is good, even necessary. Without failure there can be no real learning or achievement. Permanent failure, however, is when we don't learn from our temporary failures. The real issue is that if you don't focus on what causes failure, and if you don't decide to do something about it, you're perpetuating permanent failure and blocking any path to success.
Here are thirteen ways to fail consistently:
1. Have no written goals whatsoever.
2. Have no plans.
3. Take little or no action, even if you have goals.
4. Associate with the wrong people.
5. Watch too much TV.
6. Never listen to, or inquire about, others' interests.
7. Avoid all risks.
8. Complain and whine constantly.
9. Depend on others too much.
10. Don't read or study success.
11. Stay in your comfort zone.
12. Blame others for your "bad luck."
13. Be afraid to say 'No!"
Here's how to reverse the flow of permanent failure
· Make a big circle around the ones that are true for you.
· Make a decision to make them part of your new focus.
· Rewrite each circled item like this: for example, # 1: "Because I have no goals whatsoever, I am dissatisfied (or bored) with my life" or "I see no success in my future" or "I will never be promoted", or some other negative result you can think of. Be as honest as you can. Then decide to change the status quo. Pick one item and work on it, starting today. Let me know how you made out! In future articles I will elaborate on some of these specific causes of permanent failure.
John Madden is an international speaker, trainer, and author of "Leap, Don't Sleep" (How to get different results by doing something different). He helps businesses and individuals become more successful through customer service training, changing present results, coaching skills for managers, stress management through humor, time management, and interpersonal skills. You can reach him at 316-689-6932; email at john@LeapDontSleep.com; web site: http://www.LeapDontSleep.com
Since belief always precedes action, simply changing your beliefs can... Read More
The 90/10 secret is incredible! Very few know and apply... Read More
Have you ever heard of the "secrets of success"? Many... Read More
The TRUE BMI of SUCCESS (B)e a (M)illionaire (I)ndexWhy am... Read More
Don't talk to me about how to succeed! I've read... Read More
Do you think you have an "average" or perhaps an... Read More
"If you want to increase your success rate, double your... Read More
"I am the greatest warrior. I have fought with gods... Read More
Identity theft!We've all seen them. The commercials use the voices... Read More
The best way to predict your future is to create... Read More
Creating a goal tracking chart is as simple as drawing... Read More
Deep down, where it counts, many people do not believe... Read More
Everyone wants success.Some people spend their every waking moment pursuing... Read More
Success could be just about making money, but I think... Read More
If you are like me you have probably lost a... Read More
If you've been walking this earth for any length of... Read More
We must never allow a day to pass without finding... Read More
What is success? As author and speaker Earl Nightingale said,... Read More
Have a therapeutic meltdown It's crunch time: you're two days... Read More
Cool Facts: Walt Disney went bankrupt several times before he... Read More
A farmer in Pennsylvania decided to sell his farm, but... Read More
The title of this article also happens to be the... Read More
Temp your way to the top Want to take the... Read More
Let's get right to the point, folks.We're all looking to... Read More
Success is the most desired ambition of the human beings.... Read More
So you want to be successful (whatever that means to... Read More
Many people consider reading books a waste of time. It... Read More
What is an ANT? An ANT is an acronym for... Read More
Our expectations get us into a lot of trouble and... Read More
Before we can unlock human potential, we need to know... Read More
Do you remember when you were a child and no... Read More
It's really all we have... the "Moment". Think about it,... Read More
Self-change is a personal phenomenon. In order to accomplish it,... Read More
An effective self- concept generates the desire to strive for... Read More
I am unashamed to copy the peak performance techniques of... Read More
What is a champion really? Sure, all success oriented people... Read More
Self-sabotage is one key factor that keeps our business from... Read More
Many different daily tasks require a strategic process to be... Read More
Success is creating what you want the way you want... Read More
Well I'll tell you what it's not. Even thought many... Read More
When you are working over time but yet you do... Read More
By popular request, I thought I would put together this... Read More
Congratulations! You are the president of your own nation, and... Read More
The simple action of writing the every day grocery demonstrates... Read More
Knowing when to disconnect, shut it off, unplug, or walk... Read More
Many people talk or write about the science of success... Read More
Why everything has to be so hard? What have I... Read More
My life is a bubble; but how much solid cash... Read More
"A man's life is what his thoughts make of it."-... Read More
Everyone wants success.Some people spend their every waking moment pursuing... Read More
Every man who accomplishes things sees first in his mind... Read More
Jim Rohn, the success guru and mentor, said, "Failure is... Read More
Trust is a cornerstone of human existence. It is interesting... Read More
Let me ask you a question? What must happen for... Read More
If we hope to achieve any worthwhile goal it will... Read More
Hello,You are reading this article because you are one of... Read More
You can achieve whatever you want by incorporating the following... Read More
"Fighting to pay the bills is hardly worth it? fight... Read More
Get ready to sail the Seven C's - the Seven... Read More
Money will buy me a house, but not a home,... Read More
I'm going to begin this article by sharing a little... Read More
I have found that sometimes the subtle difference in our... Read More
1. Clearly define what you want and what is most... Read More
"Never, never, never give up; never give up, never!." -... Read More
There is a saying that goes something like this: Getting... Read More
For every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards. That's one... Read More
Success |