Tag: Personalgrowth

To Fail Or Not To Fail? Entrepreneurs Speak…

Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough. ~Og Madino

To fail or not to fail? That is the question. Fail Fast. How about don’t fail at all?  That was the statement James Altucher posed in a public forum. Entrepreneurs jumped in sharing their beliefs, values and thoughts on the concept of failure.  Names have been omitted as I share excerpts:

What It Means To Fail

  • A person who hasn’t failed is more likely to have never been successful
  • The message of “fail fast” is not to encourage failure. What it speaks to is moving action with ideas instead of analysis paralysis and never-ending planning. No amount of analysis and planning can prepare you for the reality of launching something. This is what “fail fast” means. It does not mean to emphasize failure. Build it (now). Measure it. Learn from it.
  • The wisdom in “failing fast” is that you should test your ideas hard and fast. If it’s going to fail, better know sooner rather than later. But, yes, failing is not fun at all and shouldn’t be a badge f honor unless you can speak to what you have learned from it.
  • Fail fast is not supposed to be taken as a literal plan. It is a frame of mind entrepreneurs are suggested to take when there is a large unknown. The fact that it’s unknown means you have no guarantee that you won’t fail. So it makes more sense to operate in a way where you have affordable failures instead of large ones you can’t rebound from.
  • Failures are shameful, painful, and not shared. Experiment, test for the good and bad. Do something you don’t like to confirm. Get in touched with yourself. Be clear with your goals etc. You will feel more success and fewer setbacks with how you learn and experience the world.
  • We ought to believe in our ideas and craft them in a way we believe failure is not possible. The idea of “fail fast” sometimes naively lures us into playing the game to fail rather than to win
  • Is it possible to never fail and be trying new things? Pushing things to its edge or standing for things? The opposite of failure is not trying anything because its risk-free in our world. So being willing to fail and even fail big speaks to a conviction to do something maybe extraordinarily new. Failure stings …but so does living with little drive and not learning from past experiences/experiments.
  • Edison’s approach of saying he didn’t fail 100 times; he learned 100 things. I prefer to teach people and make them better not punish failure. Of course I believe in study, preparation, and teamwork to minimise the chance of failure. If our approach is “failure is not an option”, then you are like that ex-CEO of Yahoo who infamously posted how she didn’t have Plan B or Plan C, because she didn’t plan to fail. I have never met people who have used failure as a badge of honor but have met people who told me how they used an instance of failure to learn and get better.
  • If you have never failed, you haven’t pushed yourself or taken challenges and put yourself out there.

So there you have it. Entrepreneurs and leaders sharing their thoughts on failing fast. What’s your take? Do you agree?

Personally, I believe never trying is a certain path to boredom, apathy, and remaining stuck. Try something new today.

Cheers!

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The Most Important Step You Can Take…

The most important step a man can take. It’s not the first one, is it? It’s the next one. Always the next step. ― Brandon Sanderson

How Much Do You Value Your Life?

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One day a young boy asked his father, “what is the value of my life?”. Instead of answering, the father told his son, “take this rock and go sell it at the market. If anybody asks the price, raise two fingers and don’t say anything”, instructed the father. The boy then went to the market and a woman asked, “How much is this rock? I want to put it in my garden”. The boy didn’t say anything but raised up his two fingers, and the woman said “2 dollars? I will take it”. The boy went home and told his father, “a woman wants to buy this rock for 2 dollars”. The father then said, “Son, I want you to take this rock to a museum, if anybody wants to buy it, don’t say a word, just put up your two fingers”. The boy then went to the museum and a man showed up wanting to buy the rock, the boy didn’t say a word but put up 2 fingers and the man said “$200? I will take it”. The boy was shocked, went running home and told his father, “A man wants to buy this rock for $200”. His father then said, “Son, the last place I want you to take this rock is to a precious stone store, show it to the owner and don’t say a word, and if he asks the price, just raise up your two fingers”. The son then ran to a precious stone store, he shored the rock to the owner, “Where did you find this stone? it is one of the rarest stones in the world, I must have it! How much would you sell it for?”. The boy put up his two fingers and the man said “I will take it for $200,000”. The boy not knowing what to say, ran home to his father and told him that there’s a man that wants to buy the stone for $200,000, his father then asked, “Son, do you know the value of your life now?”

“It matters where you decide to place yourself”

You see it doesn’t matter where you come from, where you were born, the colour of your skin, or how much money you were born into. It matters where you decide to place yourself, the people you surround yourself with, and how you choose to carry yourself. You may have lived your whole life thinking that you were a $2 stone. You may have lived your whole life surrounded by people that saw your worth for only $2, but everybody has a diamond inside them, and we can choose to surround ourselves with people that see our value and see the diamond inside of us. We can choose to put ourselves in a market or put ourselves in a precious stone store. You can also choose to see the value in other people. You can help other people see the diamond inside of them.

Choose the people you surround yourself with wisely. That can make all the difference in your life.

Something To Think About…
Beautiful Extract from Sean Buranahiran

Life’s Interesting Interests…

People with many interests live, not only the longest but the happiest. ~George Matthew Allen

If you could pursue any new hobby, what would it be? That was the question Brian Tracey asked in a public forum. Hobby Dreamers chimed in telling all.  Here I share excerpts:

  • Ride a motorcycle
  • Reading more books
  • Learn to swim, study chinese and french
  • Skydiving
  • Playing the piano
  • Play an instrument
  • Cooking
  • Flying
  • Photography
  • Horse riding
  • Kickboxing
  • Surfing
  • Music and learning languages
  • Traveling the world
  • Drawing
  • Dance
  • Fix cars
  • Interior designing
  • Bull riding
  • Song writing
  • Martial arts
  • Pottery
  • Kite surfing
  • Implementing good habits
  • Have a dog rescue kennel
  • Writing blogs
  • Making dolls
  • Art, oil paint and travel
  • Fashion and art
  • Woodworking
  • Collecting coins
  • Golf
  • Hand-lettering
  • Hiking
  • Boxing
  • Gardening
  • Sewing
  • Cake decorating
  • Public speaking
  • Book binding
  • Stained glass
  • Making shoes
  • Acting

Does any resonate? Any missing? Do share. We would love to hear.

Cheers!

What’s It Gonna Be?

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Even if you cannot change all the people around you, you can change the people you choose to be around. ~R.T. Bennett

What do you feel is important to deal with your professional and personal life? Some often focus on too many values. Others seem not to give it a second thought. But when someone crosses that line, some hurt and even become bitter, and suddenly values are exposed.

What Are Your 4 Core Values?

Damon Johns asked the question “what would you say are your four (4) core values?” Responses were similar yet varied:

  • Honesty
  • Empathy
  • Concern for the world
  • Family
  • God
  • Integrity
  • Character
  • Passion Results
  • Loyalty
  • Honor
  • Work ethic
  • Love
  • Confidence
  • Consistency
  • Quality Assurance
  • Reliability

21 Core Values from Leadership 

Here is a list of values shared from leadership studies. Select your top 4 values to focus on. As James Clear reminded, if everything is a core value then nothing gets priority.

  1. Authenticity
  2. Achievement
  3. Autonomy
  4. Balance
  5. Challenge
  6. Creativity
  7. curiosity
  8. Determination
  9. Faith
  10. Humor
  11. Leadership
  12. Learning
  13. Optimism
  14. Openness
  15. Peace
  16. Recognition
  17. Reputation
  18. Service
  19. Success
  20. Trustworthy
  21. Wisdom

Missing any? Don’t hesitate… add yours!

Cheers!

Job And Career: Is There A Difference?

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What is the difference between a job and a career? Is there a difference and if so, what is it? Are you looking for a job, career, or a calling? What is your goal? Here are a few definitions to guide your evaluation.

Work

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Work is defined as activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.

Job

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A job is just about making money ….a paid position of regular employment. It is basically short term.

Career

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A career is feeling good about yourself as a sense of satisfaction …what you do… something that is your identity.  A careeer is an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person’s life and with opportunities for progress. Essentially, it is long-term.

Calling

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Your calling pertains to leaving your mark on the world…a strong urge toward a particular way of life.

Which of the above depicts you? Think about it. Is it a job, career, or a calling? Do share! We would love to hear!

Cheers!

The 3 Signs Your Friends And Loved Ones Keep You Stuck…

Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck where you do not belong. ~N.R. Nanyana Murthy

Many of us have been there. We have dreams, goals and aspirations. But we must share such desires with those closest to us to get their buy-in…and in some cases their approvals. But while we wait, it can create tension, sadness, and disappointment that causes us to become stuck. Stuck because what we want to do seems way beyond our scope of accessibility.

But there’s hope if we recognize the signs of how our loved ones and friends can hold us back from realizing our dreams.

3 Signs They Are Holding You Back

1.Their expectations

Your loved ones and friends can’t imagine you dong anything else. A colleague of mine spoke about having to convince his parents that he wanted to change careers and become an entrepreneur. He was hindered by them because they were proud of him being in his prestigious job that took care of his family.  How could he walk away from that? How will they (his parents) introduce him to their friends? What’s this entrepreneurship endeavor… they asked.

2. Their Investment

Often our loved ones hinder us because they are invested in us and expect us to stay put. Are you the main breadwinner? Will you now be putting them at risk? Is it a co-worker whose job ties closely into your own? Who will they rely on if you walk away? How will they survive?

3. Envy

The worst case occurs when friends, family, or co-workers discourage your progress simply because they envy you. They want to step out themselves but have always been afraid. They don’t have the guts to do it, so they discourage you.

Today, may you find the courage to get up and do what you have always wanted to do. Step out. In some cases it might be necessary to ‘keep your mouth shut‘. Keep your plans to yourself. Then once you have put your plans in place and are ready to go, share your decision. You’ll be guaranteed of moving on to that exciting state where change thrills as you make the leap!

Cheers!

When Things Change…

Things Change …

When things change … when you’re thrown off life’s treadmill without notice, it knocks you off-balance. A friend was working with the same company for over 25 years and recently lost her balance when she was told that the job no longer existed. Though the writing was on the wall, when it happened it was like a sharp blow. Separation like death was strange. It was final.

I thought about how I could or should comfort her. But what could I say? What are the right words? Are there any right words? Questions, questions, questions.

As an HR practitioner working in the field for over 20 years I thought about what could I say to her. Here I share a few thoughts:

Rest

First, get some rest. It’s important to face the reality of the situation. After ‘grinding the mill’ for many, many years, it’s important to take some time out to relax.

Reflect

While relaxing, reflect on the next steps. What do you want to do? Why do you want to do it? Does the ‘why‘ provide an opportunity to make a change in career path? A change in location? A change in mindset? Begin with the end in mind. Where do you see yourself in the next chapter of your life? Picture yourself 5, 10, or more years down the road accomplishing your goal, then work backwards.

Make A Plan

Prep The Next Steps. Once you decide on where you want to go, make a plan. Prepare for the next steps. Do you have skills that you could sell to someone else as an entrepreneur? What about exploring a different area of work. Know that the novelty of a new career endeavor is exciting. Prep that plan. Write it down.

Step Out

Step out. Act. Act on the plan that you came up with. When you start acting on the plan, review it often…at regular intervals to ensure you stay on track.

So if you have been there, lost your job and remain disappointed, dejected, or even stuck, get with the plan today. Start acting. Talk with a professional coach if needed and get your life back in order. Need help? Lets connect.

Cheers!

Painful. Staying Stuck Somewhere You Don’t Belong…

Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere that you don’t belong. ~Goalcast