Failure is the most important step you can take if you want to be a success. When we succeed at anything, it is usually after we have failed at doing it a different way. If you have never failed, it probably means that you have never tried… that you haven’t put out any effort.
What causes failure? It could be a lack of self-esteem. However, even people with a good, healthy liking for themselves sometimes don’t reach their goals. On the other hand, it could be a disease that’s affecting a lot of us today… disease known as Tomorrow-itis.
Henry Ford, an industrialist who mass-produced the first series of automobiles, once said: “You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.”
How can you tell when you are developing a case of Tomorrow-itis? Listen to yourself. Check your vocabulary. Have any of these phrases crept in?
- “I haven’t had a chance to… “
- “I’ve been too busy… “
- “As soon as I get these other things done, I’ll… “
- “I think I’ll rest before I start… “
- “If only… I’d… “
Great composers, artists, poets, writers and songwriters don’t work because they are inspired. They are inspired because they work.
You must work at your ambitions every day. Have you noticed that the more you work at something – the more you put into it – the more excited, inspired and “lucky” you become? Things just begin to fall in place.
Most successful people feel they are lucky. They are! They are lucky because they know how to turn failures into successes.
There are really only two causes for tomorrow-itis. They are fear of failure and indifference.
You can overcome your fear by pretending you aren’t afraid.
Fear is usually felt because we are facing an unknown. Once you’ve done something, it is easier the next time. You can become more confident by educating yourself as much as possible about the subject or event. The more you know, the more confident you become.
Failure is basically how you look at something. Indifference, on the other hand, is just plain not caring. If you don’t care, don’t do it. Do something else. Statistics show that 94% of the world’s most successful business people are working at something they like to do.
The biggest reason for failure in life is not fear, or lack of ability, or even insufficient effort. Failure is caused by a lack of clearly defined goals. Once you’ve decided what it is that you would really like to do, write it down.
Let’s be more specific. A goal is something we want. But then, so is a dream. Why write it down? Once you’ve written it down, you’ve started to take action on that desire. As you outline exactly what you want and how to get it, you have made a plan. Everyone knows a well-made plan is worth more than a thousand wishes.
How do you make a plan?
As you set your goals, you are defining your wants and desires. It is important to want. If you don’t want, you have no reason.
Think about what you want. Write it down. Write it down in specific terms. This gives you a clear destination. You will know exactly where you are headed.
Set up check points for yourself along the way. These we sometimes call “short-range goals.”
Here’s how you do it.
Pick a specific goal, such as a desire you have for your career. Ask yourself, “What do I want from my career?” Write it down in specific terms. “This is exactly what I want.”
Then write down what you have to do to get it. Take out a sheet of paper and write across the top: “What I have to do in the next 10 years to attain my goal.” Write down everything you can think of. You can go back and put it in the correct order later.
Take out another sheet of paper. Write down: “What I can accomplish in the next five years.” List your thoughts about this. Then take out five more sheets of paper and write the following questions and your answers to each one: “What can I and will I do this year?” “What am I going to do this quarter?” “What should I have accomplished by the end of this month?” “What am I going to do this week?” “How much can I do today?”
Then take action.
This produces a pride in yourself as you reach your check points and a great deal of self-esteem when you arrive at the final destination of this journey.
Oh, yes, there will be detours. There always are. They may throw you a little off your route. They may delay your estimated time of arrival, but you must remember that 93% of success in life is based on attitude… only 7% on skill and courage.
Failure is 100% guaranteed if you do not try; but failure only means that you have taken an important step toward attaining real success.
Do what you can today. Don’t put anything off and you will get rid of tomorrow-itis forever.
Leave A Comment