What is Failure

Today I experienced a large failure. I have experience failure before in my life but today’s failure was especially critical because of how it occurred and of course when it occurred. I planned and put together an event that I thought would catapult my organization and myself into a place where people would know that we offer quality products and services but instead of that I experience a humbling defeat that left me wondering, what went wrong. So as I drove back home to reorganize and evaluate the defeat, I started to come up with question?

• Was it me, did I assume things that should have been tended to?


• Was it marketing, did I not get the word our effectively


• Was it my target market, was I trying to provide a service or product that they didn’t want or need?


• Was it my business image or name. Did I not have the trust of the people because I am a small business trying to come up?


• Or did I just fail, am I in over my head, should I take my L and go back to what I know instead of trying to step out?

I don’t really know what the exact answer is but let’s break down each of these questions and see where the problem lies.

• Was it me, did I assume things that should have been tended to? I don’t believe that it was myself or an oversight on my part. I prepared for this event and I was on time and ready to take care of business. Even if the event would have started late, I would still have been able to perform my duty effectively. I had all the materials as well as had a firm grasp of the knowledge that I was going to teach…so I think I was prepared.

• Was it marketing, did I not get the word our effectively? I distributed between 1,000 – 2,000 pluggers, an additional 100 - 150 flyers, 5,000 emails about the event, posted on numerous message boards, distributed information at events that were targeted to my target market and contacted numerous corporate sponsors for further partnerships.

• Was it my target market, was I trying to provide a service or product that they didn’t want or need? I really feel that this might be where the issue lies. The market that I was targeting might not feel that what my company is offering is important enough to support or attend. Many times since people are used to getting things free, when you offer a service that helps them and is not free, they feel they can find it elsewhere for free or that they do not need it bad enough to pay. The problem will lie in that if I take my products and services to another market that embraces the knowledge, how will I react then.

• Was it my business image or name. Did I not have the trust of the people because I am a small business trying to come up? This could be an issue as well. Without brand and name recognition, many people in certain markets will not trust new companies until they prove themselves. New companies are forced to either partner with an established name/brand or hope that a media outlet will get wind of what they are doing and make it known to the masses.

• Or did I just fail, am I in over my head, should I take my L and go back to what I know instead of trying to step out? Failure is not an option, I cannot concede failure because even though I am discouraged, I have to bounce back. I cannot even start to blame God because I know that everything will work for His glory but I do know that I would like to understand why things happen the way they happen. According to His word, the Holy Spirit reveals all mysteries and secrets of God as they are told to Jesus. Therefore, I should receive an explanation or get some understanding as to why things have transpired as they have because right now I am confused. I wonder why I shouldn’t just take this as an L and go back to working like I did before…but wouldn’t that be an admission of failure? Lets look at the definition of failure.

Failure

• The condition or fact of not achieving the desired end or ends


• One that fails


• The condition or fact of being insufficient or falling short


• A cessation of proper functioning or performance


• Nonperformance of what is requested or expected; omission


• The act or fact of failing to pass a course, test, or assignment.


• A decline in strength or effectiveness.


• The act or fact of becoming bankrupt or insolvent.

Well according to these definitions, I would have to say that I am a failure but here is what changes that outcome. In the midst of my failing, I decided to take what went wrong and learn from it. I have drawn a plan that includes many enhancements to my current online offering so that I can still offer my services but instead of depending on people or my marketing to make it happen, I will form strategic partnerships that will provide the marketing arm for me. From this experience I have learned that the most successful businesses and people pull the best from others. So since I am good at what I do, I will partner with others to do what I cannot and therefore we will all reach a mutually beneficial goal.

The overall outlook of this situation is that I decided to learn, even though I will have to change my approach, I will still progress towards the goal. If I decided to stop right where I was at because of one mishap then I would have my name added to a long growing list of people that let their dreams, goals and future be dictated by mishaps instead of progress. So even when I fall short, I still progress because I then learn what I did wrong and adjust and keep on keeping on because Success is Inevitable…So Get Ready.

Progress

By J. Success

For audio click here

Everyday make progress toward a goal. If you see in your future a business for yourself then everyday make progress towards that goal. You don't have to setup the business all in one day but you can at least look up the business process or research your market to see if you can make money with your business. If you see yourself traveling in the future then start looking up the places you want to go online and make sure you will know what you are doing when you get there. You may have to wait to get there but you don't have to wait to be prepared.

The definition of progress is steady movement towards a goal. The keyword there is steady, whatever you want to do in life and wherever you see yourself in the future, continue to make progress everyday. I see myself as a person that teaches people to realize the success that is within them, so everyday I continue to build a company that showcases different ways to bring out the success in people. Remember if you have a lofty goal that is far away from you attaining now, you don't have to make one big step to get there, just make continuous little steps and you will get to the same place.

Finally, if you have a dream or goal that does not require you to become a better person then you are now then the dream is to small. Your dream or goal in life should be so large that it makes you get up everyday and make continuous progress daily so that when you look back in a week, month, year or years you see that you may not be where you want to be, but you are not where you used to be.

Remember, to have what you have never had, you must do what you have never done...because...Success Is Inevitable...So Get Ready!!!

No matter what, stay together

By J. Success

For Audio click here.

When my wife and I were receiving counseling for our marriage, we expected to have numerous sessions with our pastor going over our current relationship and what to expect in marriage. We expected the pastor and his wife to break down our situation and let us know what we needed to work on prior to our marriage, which was two weeks away. We also expected to have a few tense moments where we argued about who was going to cook the food, clean up, run the house and raise the children. Instead we got one session and in this session we got the lesson of a lifetime.

My pastor took my hand and took my wife to be hand and told us to make an intertwined fist and say to each other, no matter what.stay together. That was it, that was our counseling and that was the focus of our marriage, no matter what.stay together. He was teaching us that the covenant of marriage is bigger then the two individuals that come into it. He was teaching us that God takes two imperfect individuals and makes a perfect covenant before Him and we do not have the right to destroy it without valid reason. Here is an example, when you have an argument with a coworker, you don't quit your job. You might avoid that person for a few days or not speak to them but you do what you have to do to make the situation work because there are benefits to your job. When you have an argument with your spouse, it does not give you an excuse to run to divorce court. There are many more benefits in marriage than a job. Proverbs 18:22 says "The man who finds a wife finds a treasure and he receives favor from the Lord." Now I don't know all the benefits from a job but when I did work in corporate America I do recall things such as a paycheck, health care, dental, vision, company trips, free internet and access to an abundance of free office supplies. Now please let me know if I am mistaken but all those do not even begin to touch the surface of what it's like to have favor from the Lord. Favor from the Lord means that no matter what, someone got your back. When times look rough, you can call on Jesus but the problem is that in the midst of our anger and frustration, we turn our backs on our spouse and in doing so, turn our back on God.

See marriage does not focus on where you are at now; it's a journey of where you are going. Similar to your purpose in the kingdom, God does not focus on where you are at now because He knows where you are going and what you are going to be. If marriage focused on us now then our vows would be "until we change" or "until we feel like something else", instead of "until death do us part". God knows our destiny and our purpose in life, he also knows that we cannot do it alone so He gives us His power (the Holy Spirit) and a human helper (our spouse). The purpose of marriage is to provide you with a person to help you fulfill your purpose. Now within that are numerous other benefits and purposes such as procreation, love and support. But the overall purpose of your spouse is to help you reach the destiny that God has for you.

Now I know my purpose in life, is to teach what God has revealed to me, whether it's a one day entrepreneurship workshops, the gospel, websites, or just words of encouragement. And I also know that I needed to teach men how to love their wives. The problem was that I didn't know how to love my wife. See my wife always used to ask me did I love her and I would tell her yes but in actuality I really didn't know if I did or not. But when we got married I finally started to say not yet to her question of love, but not because I didn't want to say that I loved her but because I didn't know how to love her. See God is love, so the more I become like Jesus, the more I learn how to love her as a husband should and how a woman of God deserves to be loved. My definition of love before I came to God was that of lust and unfaithfulness. I told my wife that you didn't want me to love you like I, in my own ability, knew how to love. So now she knows that everyday she asks me do I love her, I tell her yes I do and I love you more than I did the day before because everyday I learn and become more like the Jesus I serve.