by Darrin Schenck
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by Darrin Schenck
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I thought this said exactly what I was looking to share.
When I first really started looking at doing public speaking, I had concerns about that fact that I hadn’t gone out and truly conquered the world, started and successfully existed a business, or won a Nobel Laureate for my contribution to society. Why would anyone want to listen to what I have to say?
And then I realized something very important:
As it turns out, BECAUSE of my mistakes, I have a lot to share.
As the old saying goes: “Even from the Fool , you learn not to be foolish.” Now, I have not always played the fool, but on occasion it has occurred. I have gotten the opportunity to do some cool and amazing things, and I have accomplished some meaningful things, too. And because I have made mistakes, failed miserably, fell just short, and also had successes means that I do have some things to share with the world. As I like to remind people, I don’t have answers, but I do have opinions. My opinions come from the experiences I have had, both good and bad, both successes and failures.
Some of the best lessons I have learned, and some of the most formative moments in my life, have been losses or failures. In many cases, especially in sports, a win means you did things right, or “right enough” to get the job done. This doesn’t typically prompt a lot of review and analysis of everything that happened. You take it as a job well done, and move on. Losses, however, can prompt a forensic analysis of what happened, and then corrective measures are put into place and new or different skills are set into motion. This is an important part of the process, and cannot be downplayed or worse yet avoided. YOU NEED THE LOSSES AND THE MISTAKES, its where the most growth happens. This is an invaluable part of the learning curve; learning what not to do can be just as important as learning what do to.
In sales, I have certainly have had my share of success and failure. Any time you get the chance to vie for a large opportunity, there are going to be lots of competitors doing the same thing. This amplifies every part of the process, and puts a magnifying glass right over any error that might be made. Keep in mind, you can do everything right, and for one reason or another, you are still not chosen. But you can certainly screw it up all on your own, and blow a big sale. It happens, and it happens way more than any salesperson ever wants it to. But just like in life, there are no guarantees and not everything turns out the way you want it to.
But here’s the thing…you have to go through the process to get better. The process includes all of it, the wins and the losses. You HAVE to have the errors, the shortfalls, the bellyflops to ever have, and also truly appreciate, the successes. There is no success without failure, period. But these failures are not a measure of your worth as a human or as an entrepreneur, or anything else you may think. It is part of the journey. Each failure is a chance to make slight changes or revamp the whole system; each win is an indicator you may be on to something, but you should continue to refine and improve what you do.
EVENTUALLY, you will get to a place where you have enough experiences to have a much better idea of what you are doing. You’ll never have all the answers, you’ll never be free from failure or error. But you can lessen the frequency and the impact of the errors that do occur, and allow yourself more margin for the failures that always going to be part of the process. In my opinion, that is as good as it gets.
As always, I wish you luck in your endeavors.
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