How to Win Despite Facing Failure after Failure

"I am facing failure after failure and hence, there is no guarantee that I will win when I make my next attempt. Therefore, I will stop trying." No excuse can be lamer than this. But we hear this excuse quite often, be it an examination, a job interview, an attempt to discover something, reduce weight, or to cement a broken relationship.

Let us take two examples. Let us first take the example of a person who is looking for a career and who has attended tens of interviews but has not landed a job. Let us assume that it is you. You may be putting forth a lot of effort into preparing yourself for the interviews. You may possess extensive knowledge in your field. But the question is: Is your preparation effective? Is your efficiency while making your efforts adequate enough? If your preparation is not effective or purposeful or if you are not efficient while making your efforts, you may never land a job you are dreaming of. 

The second example is that of an entrepreneur who struggles to achieve the targets that he or she has set. Let us again assume that you are the entrepreneur. Though there can be several extraneous factors that may govern the outcome of your efforts, there are a few over which you may have control. 

Regardless of whether you are a job aspirant or a struggling entrepreneur, you can bid adieu to failures and usher in success. But you have to adopt a few simple tactics for this. Let us find out what they are.

1. Failures are experiences. So, learn from them.

You have faced failure after failure but what have you learned from these failures? Had you learned from your failures, you might not have allowed repeated failures. In fact, failures are revelations, say experts. If you have not learned anything from your failures, it means you have not asked the right questions that can teach you the right lessons. The normal questions most of the folks like you ask are: "Of all the people, why is it I am only unlucky?" "Who is to blame for my failures?" "How can life be so unfair to me?" But these questions do not and can not help you learn. The only question that can help you is: "What is the right step I should take for improving my situation?" 

This question focuses on the solutions and not on the issues or failures you are facing. This shift in your focus will help you find the appropriate solutions that can take you along the winning path.

2. Introspect to find out the wasteful, energy-sapping things you involve yourself in.

At the end of every day, recollect all the tasks you did during the day. This will help you find out the wasteful and energy-sapping things you involved yourself in. If it is necessary, you can even maintain a journal for carrying out this exercise. The intention of this exercise is to eliminate destructive behaviors and replace them with purposeful ones. But this exercise should be carried out with level-headedness and objectivity. Otherwise, your emotions and bias will not only cloud the findings of your exercise but will induce you to make stupid decisions.

 

3.Re-consider your field

When things are not working out the way you want, it is better you revisit your fundamentals. You can even change your specialty. In fact, experts advise job aspirants to have more than one option. Similarly, entrepreneurs can think of diversifying their business. But you should guard against becoming a "messy-eater," who has all the items on her platter and does not know how and what to eat. You should guard also against becoming a "humanoid" that undertakes "mechanical pursuits." This means you should put your heart and soul into this exercise. In short, you should re-wild your brain to know the best options that suit you. Once you are ready with such options, you can easily set your compass in those directions for having smooth navigation. Of course, the exposure, the environment, and the resources available to you play a major role in the choices you make.

If you find it difficult to choose your options, you can use the following advice suggested by experts. 

Dispense with the age-old generic myths about experimenting. Do your research on various options including those others consider as funny, unconventional, and unorthodox. But remember that you should make your choices coldly. This means that you should not use the emotional prism but the prism of self-interest. You will ultimately find the options that suit you.

4. Acquire H.I.S.

Every field or industry needs people with high skills. Since companies are ready to pay hugely for these skills, they are known as H.I.S. or High-Income Skills. You have to make all possible efforts to acquire these skills. If you are one among those who are caught in the ocean of generalists, you will earn only mediocre income. On the contrary, if you are a specialist and if you possess high-income skills, you will be able to "make a splash" in your field.

If you are a struggling entrepreneur, you should make it a point to hire only those who have such skills because these employees will help you in your efforts to bring about a turn-around in your business. 

5. Remember that success will not happen just by accident.

If you think that some Jesus will descend from the Heavens and hand the platter of success to you, you are terribly wrong. You have to make purposeful efforts to come out of the fog of your struggles. Proper preparation and robust plans will help you trump your situation. Though you should try to have crystal-clear clarity over what you should do, there is no need that you should wait for a laundry list that consists of specific strategies or steps for making your plans. Of course, there is a viable way that will help you in simplifying this task. It is known as "reverse engineering." If you embrace this way, there is no need for you to re-invent the wheel. Just go through how those, who have already achieved success, have undertaken their journey. You can adopt the same steps but ensure to modify them to suit you and your situation.   

Once you start adopting these steps, you will stop mourning your past failures. On the other hand, you will find that you have created a firewall against failures.

The Most Important Step You Should Take to Succeed as an Employee

No organization can run without employees. As an expert puts it, "every organization needs employees. Similarly, the employees need the organization also. The simple fact is neither of them need be ashamed to admit this." Bur if you feel that you have not achieved success as an employee, it shows that you are not aware of the secret that can catapult you to the success-plank. Let us find out what it is. But its unfolding comes with a warning. You may not like it. But without it, you cannot achieve success as an employee.

Before the cat is let out of the bag, you should understand that there are a few uncomfortable facts. The first one is that you may have the habit of reading all the personal development and self-improvement books and articles for improving yourself as an employee. You may have taken up courses that have been designed by the so-called experts. You may have attended seminars and conferences of some of the big names in the personal development field. Though these books, seminars, and conferences can certainly do good, there is one particular thing you are missing out. That is what is impeding you from moving from your present spot to the level you wish to reach. 

What is this secret that no one has advised you till now? It is spelled as "MOMENTUM."

Momentum is the only ammunition that can help you surmount the challenges you encounter along your way. Momentum will alone help you maintain your motivation level even during challenging times. This means if you learn to generate momentum, it will be easy for you to achieve the goals you have set. 

If you think that by momentum, we mean that you should take big strides, you are wrong. It is enough if you take just one step forward. But you should take it daily and consistently. You may ask: "How long should I take these steps for reaching my goal?" It purely depends on your ability. In fact, there is no one-size-fits-all rule for this because every individual is different. 

But unfortunately, momentum is not a thing that comes by accident or that comes about naturally. You have to make deliberate efforts for creating it. Only then, you can move forward. Simply put, it first needs your intent and then, your efforts. Since you will be creating it, it is completely under your control. 

Unfortunately, a number of people wait for momentum to get created. They have to wait eternally because unless they make efforts intentionally, it will remain as an unborn child. But here is a caution. During the process of creating momentum which means taking a step on a consistent basis, you are likely to face bumps. You may get stuck as well. But these things should not deter you. You should keep taking the steps. If you find that there is a necessity to make modifications or changes to your course, you must not hesitate to make them also. 

The following are some of the momentum killers. If you succumb to them, you can never achieve success as an employee. 

Impediment #1. 

"I do not want to spend my hard-earned money on such things." This may be one of the impediments that can stop the creation of the momentum that can take you towards progress. You must understand the fact that if you are not ready to spend the required amounts to take up the studies that can help you in your progress, you will reach your destination very late. So, it should not be an excuse.

Of course, if you are a person without financial wherewithal, you are advised to make full use of the Internet. In fact, the Net contains millions of materials that can help acquire the knowledge or skills you require for fast-tracking your journey. Of course, you can visit libraries and read the right books that can improve your skills. But you should begin the process of creating the momentum IMMEDIATELY. If you sit idle and wait for things to happen, nothing is going to happen. 

Impediment #2. "I do not possess the required qualifications to show to my employer that I deserve a higher position." Of course, qualifications may show that you possess the knowledge or skills employers are looking for. But there are other ways to show your employers that you have the required skills. One of the best ways is to come out with killer-suggestions that can lift the business of your company to the stratosphere.

Coming out with such suggestions requires deliberate and purposeful efforts. There may be several resources available on the Net and in the library. You can read all of them. They may trigger your creativity. Even resources that are not related to your field will also help. You can use what is called the "cross-fertilization" technique for coming out with killer suggestions.

Therefore, not being able to spend money or not possessing the required qualifications are not real impediments. The impediment is YOU and YOU alone. You should be ready to dispense with the cobwebs in your mind so that you create the momentum that is required for taking you to the higher levels in your organization. Therefore, the simple mantra is: Keep taking just a step daily and consistently for creating this momentum.