Why people fail 6

I wish to thank everyone who has sent in sms, emails or blog comments to acknowledge

how this series has been of immense impact on their lives. Thanks a million for your

kind words. Keep them coming. Next post, I’ll be starting a new series entitled,

“Why Giants Fall”, where we’ll be discussing reasons people who once tasted success,

fame and wealth found themselves slipping from grace to grass. It promises to

be informative and inspiring.

To every man is assigned a life assignment. Life is a purpose and each day that makes up your entire life must be lived on purpose for fulfilment (success) to happen. Your responsibility is to find your voice- what makes you unique from every other individual? People fail for non-discovery of self, going through life striving to be like others.

Ask the following questions:

·         What are my talents/natural endowments (sports, food, music, craft, the arts, sciences..?)

·         What are my complimentary skills (football, cooking, singing, painting, writing, scientific research..?)

·         What are my strengths (loving, compassionate, being organised, sensitivity, meticulousness, quizzical, extroverted..?) 

·         What do I do so effortlessly?

Marcel Prous says, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” Meditate and make an inventory of your strengths.

Every effort spent on developing your talent, skills or passion is a positive one. Never give up on developing your innate abilities. It’s like casting your bread upon the waters; you’ll find it after many days. Derive joy in building yourself up. Never invest more on your outward appearance than you do to your inward man because the latter always outlasts the former as the former diminishes with age. But many people die while still living because as their outward man fades away, the inward man deteriorates as well; due to non-development. What self development resources have you invested in lately? Talented people fail for non-development of talent. Develop your gifts through constant use.

People also fail as a result of discouragement. Most job seekers allow themselves to be intimidated by the evasiveness of “good” jobs in the land to the extent that they unfortunately conclude that to get such jobs one needs a “connection”. This is not 100% correct. People still get jobs on merit without knowing anybody. Work hard, know your onions, be clear about what you really want, design your map, join the queue and stay on the line.

Life rewards consistency, stay on the line till it’s your turn. Endure the initial rejection till you become a brand. Stay on the line, develop roots and produce branches like a tree. Have you ever seen a tree change location? Quit jumping from industry to industry, job to job or relationship to relationship. Funke Akindele waited for 10 years till she became a household name and brand icon. What would have become of her if she had quit acting just before she produced the film, Jenifa?

Be consistent till you generate momentum to overcome inertia. That’s the secret of cars and aeroplanes. Momentum gives them increased motion till they reach their destination. It creates a critical mass. You’ll never develop roots by being inconsistent. Wait till it’s your turn.

Other reasons people fail that have not been discussed in this series include: laziness, complacency, timidity, rigidity etc.

Why people fail 4

Success has many children. If you succeed, you succeed for all; if you fail, you fail for yourself. No one wants to associate with a stigma like failure for failure is no man’s business.

Time has a way of stratifying ex-classmates depending on how they’ve utilized their talents, potentials, energy, environment and time itself. Have you never been puzzled seeing failures who boast that certain famous people were once their classmates or childhood friends? If life were to bestow success on everyone, no one would ever have bothered to work or to have dreams.

Life does not give desire, but it rewards smart work. Beneath the edifice of success is always work. If you tag it hard work, smart work, or action, you won’t be wrong. This suggests that the actions that you invest in every 24hours will determine if you’ll be regarded as a success or a failure. Is TIME a friend or an enemy? Is time a productive resource for you? Are you getting sufficient mileage and leverage with time? If you’ll ever become the success that you are, you’ll always wish each day were 30hours.

People fail for their disrespect of TIME. Interestingly it is the ONLY capital God has given everyone equally: young or old, rich or poor, man or woman, Negroid or Caucasian. With this resource, you can choose to write, rewrite or obliterate your history. Each tick of the clock is a step into an opportunity to make a decision, chart a new course, sign a cheque, apply for a job, make a proposal, say no, say yes, start a business, help someone, push a button, trigger the domino effect or sit aloof in inertia. Whether or not you ride on the wings of time, time passes by- like a river.

We must push back the misuse of time by reducing man-hours wasted in mindless traffic, useless gossips, baseless cyber perambulations and in wasteful parties. Educate yourself in your spare time- read a book/newspaper, acquire/develop a skill, travel to a new place, develop relationships, know God, study nature or learn something new. Time is cash, time is who you’ll become.

People also fail for wishful thinking. Manna has only fallen from heaven for a season, don’t expect that your life’s desires will manifest without a kick-start. Don’t wish that Mr. Right will knock on your door on a bright Saturday morning. Quit dreaming that $1m will drop into your account without any effort. Perish fairy tale imaginations.

Every moving object is empowered by a force. Translate your vision to action by moving mountains. “Success” comes before “work” only in dictionaries. Only a well is built from the top. Get your hands dirty and build from the ground up. Get started, keep your focus, endure the heat, endure till your light dawns, celebrate and repeat the success.

N1m is N1 in one million units. N1m minus N1 is less than a million naira. Every effort or trial counts. Never give up at the 1^st trial, not even the 2^nd or 3^rd. Failing at the 1^st trial is an indication that you’re getting it wrong, learn your lessons. Each effort gives you an idea about what makes for failure and invariably, success. You increase your success rate by your failure rate. The joy of one success story kills two failure stories. Why are you afraid to fall? Get back on your feet when you fall. The man who has fallen while trying is far more experienced than the fellow who has folded his hands to fate. Get past the crippling emotion that comes with failure. You have the capacity to succeed as big as you desire because God designed you to be the success that you are. Succeed!

Pix credit: Microsoft images

Why people fail 3

Failure happens when people fail to do what successful people do, do them for the wrong reasons, use a wrong method, or at the wrong time. They may not necessarily fail because of their inaction but wrong action. All your decisions are products of your thoughts, which are conditioned by your beliefs. Your beliefs stem from your environment, personality, interests, knowledge and culture. Why are beliefs so important? Because they control all your actions and positive belief is the root of success. You’re the product of your thoughts.

Why do people fail?

• The Plan to Fail- This must be an error! Do people actually plan to fail? Certainly, when they fail to plan. Failure progresses when you have a bright dream but you fail to create an action plan- steps to execute that will create the dream. The success of any project is as good as the plan. If you must make N50, 000 a month as a fashion designer, how many clothes will you make & sell that will deliver that turnover? How do you intend to sell? That’s a plan in the making. If you desire to become a famous musician, how often do you need to pen lyrics, rehearse and watch your competitors’ performances? What daily discipline regime do you need to subject yourself to? What are you willing to give up to get up?

Success is a mirage where there’s no plan. Don’t create vague goals; they must be achievable, believable and concrete. Your dream is not flying because you’ve not given it wings. Set exciting, time-bound goals and strictly adhere to them. Give them a shot and steadily but surely, you’ll fly with eagles.

• Lack of initiative- People who lack initiative wait for the perfect moment before they act. They over-magnify fear, obstacles, disappointments and lack. If life were to be taken as it is, no one will lift a finger, no development will happen; the 33 trapped Chile miners will all be dead. Our planet is advancing because some people are taking the initiative to fill in the gaps. Success doesn’t just happen, it is initiated. Work at what you believe in, damn the consequences. New creations were all initially despised and condemned by people who were myopic. Take steps into your long-range vision. Take steps to right the wrongs that make your heart bleed. Take steps in spite of your fear. The fear and the problems will take care of themselves as you take steps and cripple inertia. If you’re waiting for someone’s prodding, you lack initiative. Step to the top.

• Indiscipline- This is the reason successful people fail. Tu Face is a victim of sex scandals. Cecilia Ibru is jailed for financial recklessness. Idris Abdulkareem is reputed for public brawls. Majek Fashek does drugs. Need I say more? You know their stories. Private victory precedes public victory and the greatest victory you will win is victory over yourself. Lack of self control will, in a day; destroy the success it cost you hardworking years to build. Power is a sugar-coated poison. Be careful not to get bloated, pride always comes before a fall. He that is down needs fear no fall. The higher you climb the ladder of success, the more precaution is necessary because the more devastating your fall will be; if you fall. Childish people do everything their minds suggest, mature people exercise restraint. Are you a child in adult’s clothing? British novelist, Iris Murdoch says, “Freedom...is not an inconsequential chucking of one's weight about, it is the disciplined overcoming of self.”

The race for success is lifelong. There is no permanent success; you must keep replicating the event to stay on top. If you fail, learn your lessons, get back up, refuel and refire. It takes a little more insight, strategy and passion (guts) to do much work.

To be continued…