Change This and You Might Change the World

Do you ever feel like a failure? Or think that things just aren't going your way? Or maybe they will never go your way? I think we all have at one time or another. I certainly have.(Barb Wade  Business Coach and Mentor)

There have been numerous books, studies, and articles on what it is that makes "winners" different than those who don't succeed. Over and over again, one factor appears to be key:

It is their relationship to what we call "failure." Every single person who has made a significant impact on the world has experienced setbacks, missteps, and well, failures along the way. Big failures. In fact, it seems like the bigger the success, the bigger the failures there were on the way there.

But those people who succeed don't have the same reaction to "failure" that most of us have. It's as if that word isn't even in their vocabulary. You've probably heard the famous anecdote about Thomas Edison. It wasn't until after nearly 10,000 tries that he finally invented a working light bulb. When asked how it felt to fail so many times, he replied, "I have not failed. I've succeeded in finding 10,000 ways that don't work."

How many of us would have gotten even close to 10,000 tries before giving up? I know I probably would have given up after a dozen or so. (Which may be why there is no "Barb Wade Electric Company!”) The point is that if you can change your relationship to the idea of "failure," you can tackle just about anything no matter how daunting.

Here's a hint: when something you try doesn't work, it does NOT mean:

• YOU are a failure (as a person, business owner, etc)

• You will never achieve your goal

• Life sucks

• God doesn't want you to succeed (or doesn't love you)

• The idea must not be a good one

• You have bad luck

• Fill in the blank ________

Do you know what is DOES mean? (My clients will know this one.) It MEANS that you didn't get the outcome you wanted. That's it. Nothing more. It is merely new information. The best thing you can do is to learn from the new information and adjust what you are doing. In other words, make another light bulb.

I want to add here, that I'm not suggesting that you won't have some feelings around not getting the results you wanted. It's okay to feel some disappointment or frustration... for a little bit. But don't indulge those feelings and let them paralyze you. The definition of an empowered person is how quickly they can move from one "failure" to the next. How fast can you get back in the game?