Ah, failures…
I’ve had my fair share. I’m sure you have, too.
And I’m sure you’d agree that some definitely leave a bad taste in your mouth.
But we should never forget the value of failure.
Back in school, we are taught that failure is bad. But in the real world, failure happens. Sometimes it’s your fault, sometimes it’s someone else’s. Sometimes it’s the weather, sometimes it’s the traffic. Regardless of how hard we work, how much time we prepare or how much we know bad things do happen.
As such, one of the first lessons of life we need to learn is that failure is inevitable.
Instead of hanging our heads down low, accept it, learn from it and move forward.
While success may be what everyone strives for, failure is the great teacher.
The lessons I’ve learned from failure have helped me grow as a person, as an entrepreneur and a father.
That being said, there’s no sense in having to endure unnecessary pain and suffering.
That’s where autobiographies, business books and mentors come in.
Every successful person, you will ever meet will be able to tell you numerous stories of failure.
But they didn’t let failure stop them.
One story that you’ll read about over and over again in books discussing failure is that of Edison, who failed over 10,000 times in creating the lightbulb.
He could have given up, he could have let his critics win, but he was determined and the rest is history.
But I’m not here to talk about perseverance.
Today I’d like to talk about 9 reasons why people fail at business, at school, in marriage or in life for that matter.
- Fear
- Laziness
- Arrogance
- Bad habits
- Indecision
- Haste
- Over trust
- Lack of Homework
- Ignorance
Are these the only reasons? I’m sure you could come up with a few more, but this is as good as any other list out there.
Things such as laziness and ignorance need no explanation, but there are a few that many people seem to overlook which I’d like to address here.
Habits dominate much of our lives. Each morning we wake up, eat breakfast, brush our teeth, get dressed, drive to work or head off to school and so on.
Most of the time we don’t even realize we’re doing them as they have become so ingrained.
Unfortunately, not all habits are good as I found out. We all fall into bad habits from slouching, lack of exercise, watching too much TV, eating too much junk food, and well…you get the picture.
We must right our wrongs in order to be more successful and starting with our habits is a great place to start because most take nothing more than a little will power and effort.
Sadly, many people never break free of their bad habits and they pay the price later in failed businesses, health and relationships.
Over trust is another thing that I’ve fallen prey to more than a few times.
I’m a trusting person, and most people are trustworthy but not everyone. And chances are that you will run into one or two of them over the course of your life.
Trust is something that is earned.
People love to say they’ll do this and that…but all that matters is whether they do them.
To put it another way, “actions speak louder than words.”
Trust those who deserve it by having proven themselves over and over again.
Finally, let’s talk about homework. When we’re students this is a no-brainer. No homework and you’re in trouble.
But after graduating, once people get comfortable at their jobs they seem to coast.
That just doesn’t work in today’s ever-changing world. It pays to stay informed. It pays to improve your skills. Your company won’t demand that of you, you must demand it of yourself.
As you know I spend anywhere between 2-4 hours a day educating myself.
Not because I don’t know my material, but because I don’t want to forget it.
So the next time you run into trouble in your life take a good hard look at this list. Chances are you’ll find one or more as the cause.
Adrian Shepherd