The Power Of Failure

One of the most valuable experiences that you can have in your life is failure. How you handle failure is another area where you can dramatically separate yourself from the crowd.

Building a home-based business is more about failure than it is about winning day after day. Without a willingness to experience failure, you will not create the room to do what it takes to also experience success. Home-based businesses are also about sales. In reality, most everything in business is ultimately about sales. Whether you are selling a product, your concept, or yourself, you are in a constant state of sales in the network marketing industry. Because you are in the sales business, you are going to get turned down (fail) far more times than you are going to win. It's just part of the winning process.

Setbacks will happen, and they can be painful. Therefore, rather than viewing failure as a deadly enemy that destroys your dreams, learn to change your perspective. Teach yourself to see failure as an important ally, which increases your knowledge and builds your internal fortitude.

People who achieve great things are not afraid to fail. This is because they recognize that failure is an excellent teacher when it is viewed through the eyes of a winner. As children, we fell down countless times while learning to walk; today we can walk around all day without even giving the task a conscious thought. Thomas Edison failed more than a thousand times before he invented a working light bulb; today he is remembered as a great inventor, not a great failure. Babe Ruth struck out more than a thousand times, yet he is called The Sultan of Swat to this day, not The Whizard of Whiff.

Everyone has experienced failures and lived to tell about them. We learn from our failures and use them to add to our base of knowledge. When you experience failure, there are several things you can do to turn discouragement into determination. First, make time to study the attitudes and actions of those who have earned great victories in your world. Read the biographies of men and women who have overcome adversity and gone on to great success. The more you see how other people experienced similar struggles in their early years, the more you will reinforce your determination to push past whatever discouragement or setback you are experiencing.

A second way to turn discouragement into determination is to find a coach or a mentor who will help you keep your attitude where it needs to be.A good coach or mentor will help you keep both failures and successes in perspective.

Third, you will turn discouragement into determination when you create written values, mission, and vision statements, which spell who you are and what you want  your life to become, and keep them close at hand for regular review. When a setback has left you momentarily disheartened, pull out your written statements and remind yourself of who you are and of the emotionally compelling vision you are working to achieve. This will help you refocus on your ultimate destination and reconnect with your passion.

Fourth, you will turn discouragement into determination by developing a method that enables you to put things into perspective at will. Whether you take a drive, listen to soothing music, go for a walk, or engage in strenuous exercise, you should create a mechanism that offers a way to return your thoughts to a place where mental clarity and confidence in your vision are restored and reinforced.

Finally, and most importantly, you will turn discouragement into great triumphs by developing the right attitude toward failure. A failure should trigger a careful, moment-by-moment examination of the thinking, planning, and actions that led up to the failure. You will always learn more from failure than from victory. Get into the habit of dissecting each failure to analyze what may have been missing, that if put into place next time, would possibly lead to a much different outcome.

If you allow your mistakes to stop you from moving forward, you've allowed failure to have the victory. Why in the world would you give the potential for failure, or failure itself, that much power over your destiny? Don't do it! Harness the power of failure and continue to pursue your dream.$

[Ed. Note. Ray Buckner is dedicated to helping you take control of your financial future with a web-based business that you can operate from anywhere in the world – including a coffee shop, your kitchen table, or anywhere around the world where there is Internet access. Discover how you can achieve the American Dream and your financial independence here. You’ve never seen anything like this before.]