Remember my whole series on failure? Maybe I started something! Two posts today from completely different sources contemplating these same ideas. (Odd that they are on the same day…)
Mr. R (also known as Roman) is reading Jack Welch’s book, Winning, and thinking about How to act like a winner when you feel like a loser.
However, there are times when everything you do is failing so how do you keep that confidence? Because you know that if you will loose your confidence then there is a big chance you will not succeed. What I do is exact the same like Jack’s character I go into my “savings account of self-confidence”. This imaginary savings account is composed of all the wins, achievement, and hard times I overcame before in my life. I get my energy for my drive when nothing feeds it daily. Every savings account got to have an interest. So as an “interest” to this account I add how other people treat failures and win.
I have a secret weapon on the “savings account of self-confidence.” I keep a file called “Plaudits” both on paper and on my computer. That’s where all those off-the-cuff compliments go. When someone sends me a praising email, I file it away. When everything seems aligned against me, I can pull that out and remember what success feels like. That helps get me going again.
Hanna Cooper, Making a Difference blogger and work/life coach, asks some pointed questions in Celebrating Failure:
What if we celebrated failure – no, I mean really flaunted it! – instead of hiding our “mistakes” in some physical or metaphorical closet?
Where will you dare to fail today?
What’s worth possibly failing for?
What would it mean for you to fail – really grandly, excellently, flagrantly?
How will you celebrate your failure?
When I proudly proclaimed to an acquaintance that I knew more about failure than anybody else, she began to shower me with denial and sympathy. “Oh, no! Don’t think like that!” But I’m not thinking negatively, because I see that failure is another part of success, and an essential part! Remember my mantra, from Larry Wilson, “I cannot fail. I can only learn and grow.”
small biz rural entrepreneurship success failure
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Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.
Becky,
I’m glad if what I wrote resonated with you – I didn’t know of you before your comment over at my blog, so the serendipity is strong!
I keep a similar folder with thank you notes, letters of appreciation, and the like, to dive into when I forget what I’m really up to (like learning, growth, pushing out there)…
I’ll visit again – thanks for sharing your thoughts, vision, inspiration!
great post.
Thanks, Chris!
And thanks for stopping in and commenting, Hanna. I appreciate your thoughts. Don’t ever lose that folder!