Throughout our careers and our personal lives, we are constantly told that failure is not an option. Supposedly, we cannot fail, not ever. That is drummed into our minds from the time we are a child. We must succeed at all costs. However, if one never fails, how would one ever know what success is or what success feels like? How do you define success, it is different for different people.
To some, success may be just waking up in the morning. Success to a golfer may be a hole-in-one, but to me, it is just making contact between the ball and the club. Some desire success while some expect success. I desire to play golf but never expect to play like the pros. Being able to play is already my success. In the early days, I failed with every stroke, unable to make contact and my swing looked very odd. So that was a failure and I knew that was a feeling I didn’t like. I didn’t give up and kept practicing. Today, I can hit the ball and even look like a golfer sometimes. First I failed and then with practice, I could hit the ball and then I knew it was my success. I still have a high handicap but I can play golf.
Success does not just happen, it is planned.
Define what success means to you and what it looks like and then plan on how to achieve it. The idea, plan, action, and success, that is the progression. Know where you want to end up. After all, if you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get there?
Some people “Hope” or “wish” to be successful. Hope and wish are not management principles. Some believe “Luck” brings success. Luck is only applicable in playing horseshoes and tossing a hand grenade. Luck is the residue of design. Luck may help but will not guarantee success.
Are you willing to work for success? Success is a long journey and will take determination, devotion, and dedication. There is no halfway. How hard you work will define how long it takes you to get there.
Colin Powell said, “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of Preparation, Hard Work, and Learning from Failure.”
so very true Paul, those who don’t know how to fail can never taste the fruits of successes and in Chinese: failure is the mother of success, so it is through failures we learn how to improve ourselves, with success that follows