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How I’ll Never Fail Again

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Living Today, Perspective, The Writing Business, Write a Book
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I was working at our local high school a few weeks ago. I was on Cafeteria duty when I saw a note handwritten on a blackboard in the corner of the room. The note was scrawled in chalk and the first line said,

“I never fail”

I thought that was a curious statement. How was that possible?  so I read the second line:

 “I either. . .”

 I either what?

The third line had the answer:

“Win or Learn“

That statement opened a whole new paradigm for me. I don’t ever have to look at anything I do ever again as a fail. I never again have to see myself as a failure. If I win and get what I want, of course, I win. However, if the results are not exactly what I was looking for, I still win if I learned something in the process.

As I look back in history, I learned that this idea of never failing didn’t originate from that chalk written note on that blackboard. I had heard it all before. It just hadn’t yet resonated with me.

It’s a Lesson from Edison

Back when Thomas A Edison was trying to perfect the incandescent lightbulb. He said, “Of the 200 light bulbs that didn’t work, every failure told me something that I was able to incorporate into the next attempt.”

He later wrote of the incandescent light bulb. “The electric light has caused me the greatest amount of study and has required the most elaborate experiments. I was never myself discouraged or inclined to be hopeless of success. I cannot say the same for all my associates.”

Edison was considered a genius partly because he didn’t quit. It wasn’t that he didn’t make mistakes or that things worked out every time he tried it, it was that he learned from what he had done in the past.

Applying the Principle Using My Own Example

I can apply this principle to book sales by saying this: “I have not failed at selling 1000 books per month. I have simply learned that the ways that I am trying to sell books is insufficient to get the results that I want. “

Another example is I have been selling my books on Amazon and at Farmer’s Market and have had limited success because I don’t have much of an audience. Therefore, I need to reach out to other areas. Maybe more and better-planned tweets. More and better Facebook posts, maybe get more reliable on Instagram, and maybe open a TicToc account and utilize those sites more. Maybe I need a YouTube channel. Maybe I need to get my books in more live locations. Maybe I need to connect with more influencers. As you can see, I have not experimented with every way possible to promote my books therefore, I really can’t say that I have failed. I simply have not found the right avenue(s) to sell my books yet. If I spend an hour or so every day working on book promotion and experimentation with different modalities, I will find a way to sell that many books per month.

The same goes for any goal that I want to achieve. I will never fail.

You’re not Failing if You Decide You Don’t Want to Do What It Takes

I have had times when I decided that what I was doing was not worth it to me and I don’t feel as though I failed. I just learned that what I was doing was not what I wanted to do.

I can’t tell you how many times I have started doing something that I later decided was not what I wanted to do. Probably the biggest example I can use occurred after I was trained as a nurse. I did well in school. I was in the top 10% of my class, but when it came to doing the job of nursing. I hated it and I never was a very good nurse. I went to work every day scared that I would cause someone’s death. My health suffered. My heart rate was continuously above 100 beats per minute. Not to go into details, but one day I self-sabotaged and got fired. I was relieved. I had learned that I needed to do something else so I changed course and went to college and got my bachelor’s degree and am now teaching and writing books which I love to do.

Sometimes winning is learning to quit something you hate.

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32 Ways that Successful People Are Different

May 29, 2017
success
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Happy Memorial Day!

I hope that you are enjoying your Memorial Day! I know I am. I hope you also remember those who died for our freedoms.

Is Success a Result of Nature or Nurture?

Over this past weekend, my husband and I were discussing the concept of nature versus nurture. It’s a conversation that we often have and for the most part, we disagree. My husband says its primarily nature, that we are born with DNA and that we are destined to be the people that we become. On the other hand I believe that we decide what we want to become. I believe we become good at what we do because we enjoy what we do. He’s under the belief that we enjoy what we’re good at because we are destined to be good at it and because its easier, than not doing it, we do it.

Studies concerning successful people indicate that successful people are not successful because of genetic predispositions. We can’t do DNA tests to indicate who will be successful and who will be unsuccessful. One twin can be successful while the other is not. Successful people are successful because they think differently.

How Successful People Are Different

 

  1. For successful people, thinking is a discipline. They know that if they want to be better at it, they’ve got to work at it.

 

  1. Successful people take time to develop their thoughts. They don’t just settle on the first thing that comes to mind.

 

 

  1. Successful people think differently because they do things differently.

 

  1. Successful people create goals and plans. They plan ahead, while leaving room for some spontaneity

 

  1. Successful people don’t only plan for their day, they plan out their weeks, months, and long term goals. They don’t walk into meetings, parties, and coffee dates blind. They decide what they want to learn from people before walking in the door.

 

  1. Successful people figure out where they need to focus their energy, and then use the 80/20 rule. They spend 80% of their time on the 20% of things that are most valuable to them.

 

  1. Successful people make logical, informed decisions. Though many express “gut reactions” as something that they often utilize, they don’t let their emotions trump their intelligence. They slow down and think things through before they make life-changing decisions.

 

  1. Successful people are optimists that look for the silver lining in every situation. They don’t see problems, they see opportunities.

 

  1. Successful people are realists who are willing to get close enough to problems in order to tackle them. They understand the consequences and it gives them credibility.

 

  1. Successful people embrace ambiguity. They don’t fear failure.

 

  1. Successful people keep things simple. They narrow things down to best options and then follow through and avoid distractions.

 

  1. Successful people know how to focus.

 

  1. Successful people have agendas for the day and for when they meet people.

 

  1. Successful people take decisive and immediate action while others never take action and risks.

 

  1. Successful people focus on being productive, not just being busy.

 

  1. Successful people avoid perfectionism. They start projects and they finish them.

 

  1. Successful people willing to work outside of their comfort zone. They are willing to be uncomfortable so that they can grow.

 

  1. Successful people focus on making small, continuous positive changes. As their strength grows, they can take on bigger challenges. Henry Ford once said, “Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small pieces.

 

  1. Successful people measure and track their progress. They don’t just work in their business, they work on their business.

 

  1. Successful people are resilient. They are not afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes just show them their progress.

 

  1. Successful people spend time with the right people. They associate with people who are focused, supportive, and likeminded.

 

  1. In addition to spending time with the right people.  Successful people expose themselves to different ideas and types of people to avoid groupthink where everyone thinks the same as everyone else. They spend time with people who challenge them.

 

  1. Successful people collaborate with other successful people.

 

  1. Successful people know when to turn off the phone and Facebook notifications.

 

  1. Successful people maintain balance in their lives.

 

  1. Successful people don’t care what other people think of them.

 

  1. Successful people have a strong connection to themselves and revere their individuality.

 

  1. Successful people are always working on their creativity and learning different things.

 

  1. Successful people know when to work alone and when to collaborate.

 

  1. Successful people know that they cannot live on past laurels. They live in the present and prepare for the future.

 

  1. Successful people don’t chase money because what they do is worth more to them than money.

 

  1. Most of all, successful people love what they do.

 

This is where my husband would say that what we love doing is in our DNA and that might be true. He would say that we love what we do because it is in our DNA. In any case, we should take our cue from the successful and do what we and do it with all of our hearts and minds that way we will live our lives to the fullest and not let the world tell us that we don’t have what we need to be successful. We need to believe that we can be, do what we love, take action, and hang out with people that believe in our commitment.

Have you read All 5 Books of The Locket Saga?

 

When God Turned His Head;(The Locket Saga Begins

Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues

Book III of the Locket Saga: A Coward’s Solace

Book IV of the Locket Saga: Sailing Under the Black Flag

Book V of the Locket Saga: In the Shadow of the Mill Pond

Five books of The Locket Saga are available

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