Dealing with mistakes and failures - Part 2
DEALING WITH MISTAKES AND FAILURES - PART 2
Mario D'Couto
Here is something enlightening that I read from the book, "Know your limitations - then ignore them" by John Mason on failure,
Paul Galvin, at the age of 33 had failed twice in business. He attended an auction of his own storage battery business. With his last 750 dollars, he brought back the batter eliminator portion of it. That part became Motorola. Upon his retirement in the 1960s, he said, "Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out." George Bernard would say, "A life spent making mistakes is more useful than a life spent doing nothing." To expect your life to be perfectly tailored to your specifications is to live a life of continual frustration.
David McNally mused, "The mistake - riddled life is much richer more interesting and more stimulating than the life that has never risked or taken a stand on anything." What is the difference between champions and the average person? Tom Hopkins says, "The single most important difference between champion achievers and average people is their ability to handle rejection and failure." Failure is a situation, never a 'person' as someone beautifully said, "Notice the difference between what happens when a man says to himself, 'I failed 3 times' than what happens when he says, 'I am a failure.'"
You can't travel the road to success without a puncture or two. Mistakes are often the best teachers. The book of Ecclesiastics advises, "In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider." Oswald Avery would give a similar advice, "Whenever you fall, pick something up." The man who invented the eraser had the human race pretty well figured out. You will find that people who never make mistakes never make anything else. It's true you can profit from your mistakes, if you have the right attitude.
Failure is not falling down but staying down. Be like Jonah, who when swallowed by a large fish, proved that you can't keep a good man down. Remember a stumble is not a fall. In fact, a stumble may prevent a fall. Herman Melville wrote, "He who has never failed somewhere, that person cannot be great."
Not remembered for his failures but for his successes, the inventor Thomas Edison reflected, "People are not remembered by how few times they failed but by how often they succeed." Every wrong step can be another step forward. David Burns said, "Assert your right to make a few mistakes. If people can't accept your imperfections then that's their fault."
Louis Boone said, "Don't fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of life contains 3 descriptions, 'could have, might have and should have'." Robert Schuller wrote, "Look at what you have left, never look at what you have lost." If you learn from them, mistakes are very valuable. Cultivate this attitude and you will never be ashamed to try.
The person who never makes mistakes takes orders from someone who does. Fredrick Robertson related, "No man ever progressed to greatness and goodness but through great mistakes." William Ward said, "Failure is delay but not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end street."
David McNally mused, "The mistake - riddled life is much richer more interesting and more stimulating than the life that has never risked or taken a stand on anything." What is the difference between champions and the average person? Tom Hopkins says, "The single most important difference between champion achievers and average people is their ability to handle rejection and failure." Failure is a situation, never a 'person' as someone beautifully said, "Notice the difference between what happens when a man says to himself, 'I failed 3 times' than what happens when he says, 'I am a failure.'"
You can't travel the road to success without a puncture or two. Mistakes are often the best teachers. The book of Ecclesiastics advises, "In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider." Oswald Avery would give a similar advice, "Whenever you fall, pick something up." The man who invented the eraser had the human race pretty well figured out. You will find that people who never make mistakes never make anything else. It's true you can profit from your mistakes, if you have the right attitude.
Failure is not falling down but staying down. Be like Jonah, who when swallowed by a large fish, proved that you can't keep a good man down. Remember a stumble is not a fall. In fact, a stumble may prevent a fall. Herman Melville wrote, "He who has never failed somewhere, that person cannot be great."
Not remembered for his failures but for his successes, the inventor Thomas Edison reflected, "People are not remembered by how few times they failed but by how often they succeed." Every wrong step can be another step forward. David Burns said, "Assert your right to make a few mistakes. If people can't accept your imperfections then that's their fault."
Louis Boone said, "Don't fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of life contains 3 descriptions, 'could have, might have and should have'." Robert Schuller wrote, "Look at what you have left, never look at what you have lost." If you learn from them, mistakes are very valuable. Cultivate this attitude and you will never be ashamed to try.
The person who never makes mistakes takes orders from someone who does. Fredrick Robertson related, "No man ever progressed to greatness and goodness but through great mistakes." William Ward said, "Failure is delay but not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end street."
