This article is one of many provided as a gift to you for becoming an integral part of our network. These inspirational emails and updates are designed to help stay on the right path toward your destination. If there is anything we can do to improve our communication, please don’t hesitate to let us know. We hope you enjoy these short, yet vitally important keys to avoiding permanent failure in your life.
Before continuing, please note that everyone in life has fallen. We have all failed, missed a goal, made mistakes and even hurt those we love the most. For the most part, our actions are not intentional yet the ultimate pain and suffering is the same. If you are suffering from a failure in life why not look at your mistake as a learning experience. By learning from our shortcomings we can become a better friend, parent or leader.
The first thing you must do is find peace within yourself. You must forgive your past and embrace a none-wavering belief in who you are and where you came from. Next, always remember, you are a child of a loving God who sees you as one of His own. Regardless of what you have done, your past is erased and your slate is clean. You have a purpose and God has a plan for your life. You are forgiven and you can be restored. Develop a heartfelt belief in second chances and never let go. Lastly, remember that a mistake only becomes a decision when we repeat it over again. Hold steadfast and use your learning experience to make real change occur. It has been said that your greatest test can become your greatest testimony if you will only open your heart and mind to the possibilities. It is my prayer that you do just that.
May God bless you, expand your territories, place His hand of favor upon you and give you peace always.
- Uncontrollable Frustration
Face it. No matter who you are and what your lifestyle is, you will sooner or later be frustrated in some form or another. When pursuing success by establishing goals and attempting to balance your life you will, encounter frustration. The closer you get to your goal and more successful you become the more important it is that you learn how to handle frustration. It goes hand in hand with success, especially in the area of finances.
Whether it is accumulating capital or some other goal, the closer you are to your goal, the more you will have to learn to control frustration. I don’t know of one person that has accumulated any measure of wealth that hasn’t encountered it! Not one! Frustration can kill a dream, which in turn kills goals, which in turn causes failure in people.
Every success story in life contains mounds and mounds of frustration. Perhaps you have fallen and feel like you can’t get up. Things didn’t go right in the past and still aren’t presently. Goals aren’t met on time. Obstacles arise that you never expected. You are not
alone. Do you think Donald Trump built his financial empire without frustration? As a matter of fact, he is probably frustrated now trying to keep it!
You show me a successful person and I’ll show you someone who can confront and handle frustration. You may think you’re broke because you’re frustrated, but you have it backwards my friend. People get paid well for coping with stress and frustration. All successful people realize that you must dig through the frustration before you can find success. Success is the diamond in the rough and the rough is known as frustration. Benjamin Disraeli once wrote, “Little things affect little minds.” That goes well in understanding frustration.
If we realize that we shouldn’t worry about the little things in life (and it’s all little things) then we can realize we shouldn’t let it affect us. Frustration teaches us as we move along the road of life towards success. With each obstacle there is frustration. With each frustrating moment there is a learning experience and a chance to regroup. If I were asked what the key to failure was in one word, it would be frustration. The key to success? Handling it.
- Avoiding Rejection
You may have heard about Colonel Sanders and his endurance in receiving 1,000 no’s before hearing the sought after yes. That’s just one of the many ways rejection will be your companion on the path to success.
Speaking of rejection reminds me of when I was a recent graduate with high ambitions of establishing a practice. My vision was establishing a large, multi-doctor facility that would project a professional image on my chosen profession. This had not been done thus far, at least not in my part of the country. Little did I know that my vision was smaller than the attained dream would become! Although I attained a goal beyond my expectations, rejection filled the air throughout my journey in life. Here goes another profound statement. It still does!
Rejection is part of life if you are going to strive for anything outside of the norm. I was told all along that I would fail. “You must be crazy if you think you’re going to create a practice like that in this town.” “Don’t try it Dallas, you’ll regret it.” Or consider this one, “If you want to live your life in debt and constantly scrape by, just go through with what you’re doing. I would advise you to get a job and work like everybody else!”
I never quite figured that one out. I guess that person believed if I established my own business I wouldn’t work. Regardless, the point is rejection is a black cloud that will follow you around throughout your goal setting life. You can look at it as a dark cloud raining on your parade or you can view it as the storm before the sunshine. If you see it as the latter, you will learn to look past the rejection to the clear sky ahead. Set backs can be set-ups for comebacks or a ruin that produces permanent failure depending on how you view it. The choice is truly yours. Rejection builds character and character is what is left after all of the noes are gone.
If you were told you could do anything and would not be rejected, what would you do? Would you try things that you would not have otherwise? Inventions would be accepted, job applications accepted, ideas accepted, business loan applications accepted, requests accepted and on the list could go. Why not view your journey and attained
success the same way? All someone can do is say no and no’s have kept good company. Show me a successful person in life and I will show you someone who faces rejection head- on, over and over and over and—well, you get the picture.
- Avoiding Financial Pressure
This may sound like a no-brainer, but you would be surprised at the number of people who believe when you “make it” your financial worries are over. Hogwash! If you choose to attain the success you desire in your life and finances are part of it, get ready!
During my growth phase in business, I can recall financial pressure above all things, tremendous financial pressure. Bills due, payroll due, rent due, notes overdue, the pressure was enormous. No other area can penetrate your life like financial pressure.
You do not have to become a slave to it. After working through the mistakes I made during my growth phase, I encountered financial pressure, but to a much lesser extent. I learned to give it to God and do all I can humanly do. I worried less and eventually put it behind me altogether.
God will lead you, but you can’t sit back and just wait for a miracle. Financial pressure, if avoided, can lead to financial devastation. Financial pressure if confronted and handled wrongly can lead to the worse kind of destruction, your life. Don’t avoid financial pressure. Realize its part of the wheel of success. A piece of the overall puzzle we all must confront.
- Complacency
It goes without saying that you can’t reach the pinnacle of success by being complacent—No argument there. Why then is it that so many those attaining success believe they can become complacent once they’ve achieved it? People reach a desired level of success only to fall long and hard because of something avoidable. That something is mental laziness, also known as complacency.
There’s nothing wrong with being happy with your accomplishments. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying some of the benefits. There is something terribly wrong with becoming complacent and not being all that got you to where you are today. The power of the mouth that accompanies complacency causes tremendous devastation. You utter the words, “I’ve made it. I think I can stop trying and start enjoying, I deserve it.” Just be ready for a fall. Luke 18:14b reads, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Proverbs happens to be one of my favorite books of the Bible. Solomon specifically discusses being aware of the words we speak from our lips. He spends time on laziness too. These two subjects I believe, are of utmost importance when discussing complacency and reaching our desired destination in life. “Do not love to sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare” (Proverbs 20:13). I don’t know about you, but that seems self-explanatory to me!
Of these six things the Lord hates, a proud look is one of them (cf. Proverbs 6:16–
17). Don’t become a victim of complacency and don’t allow your mouth to become your enemy. Remember, money may talk, but wealth whispers.
- Greed
Years ago Burt Reynolds starred in a film titled, “The End.” It depicted a man hat wanted to end his life and tried various ways to commit suicide. All failed and then the finale came. He decided to drown himself. He swam a long distance and dove deep as he attempted to end his life. Then suddenly he came up gasping for air determined to live. As he fought for his life swimming toward shore he began promising God to tithe with his money. He started with 80%! As he got closer to the shore the percentages fell. Soon he saw that he was going to make it. The percentage went to, and I’m guessing, somewhere around 10%. He finally told the Lord to either take it or leave it; that’s his final offer!
Although humorous, this reflects life much as it is today. We want to give when we are asking for help; however, we feel we can discontinue when times are good and we don’t need the help anymore. Nothing could be further from the truth. Greed can kill even the best of people. It is the center of every backstabbing, cutthroat transaction in this world today. “What’s in it for me?” is one of the most common asked questions and could be coined as the slogan of this decade.
Think about it. What would happen to this world if there were no greed? Everyone would be as interested in everyone else as they were themselves. The in it for me philosophy would be history and the thought of how different things would be is mind- boggling.
So what does this have to do with reaching your destination in life? Everything! If you reach your desired level of success with greed, it won’t be what you desired at all. It’s false success and the only way to stay there would be by lying and cheating. Not my idea of being successful. Greed will take away everything you achieved in a fraction of time.
I have personally witnessed people, truly successful people, allow greed to take over and end up lower than where they originally started in life. The sad part about it is that greed is like a cancer. Once you allow it to take hold, it eats at you until there’s nothing left. The good thing about it is there is a proven prevention: Give, give and give some more.
Remember, we all fall. An ancient proverb once said, “Fall seven times, get up eight.” No matter how many times you have fallen, you can get back up. Your life does matter. Regardless of the circumstances (financial, legal, divorce) you must stay focused, forgive our past, preserve and keep moving forward toward the future. One thing is for sure, remaining where you are in times of suffering will only breed more suffering. You were born to win. Believe in yourself and, most importantly, God believes in you.
About the author
Dr. Dallas Humble is a healthcare provider, business owner, professional consultant, author and founder of The Reshape Institute. Dr. Humble consults with individuals and organizations across the country to improve productivity, identify & mitigate injuries and promote wellness. For more information visit www.dallashumble.com.
