Don't be Afraid to Fail

[Joe Marconi]

Don't be afraid to fail

 

Is the fear of failure holding your business back from achieving even greater success? Every great person in history had to overcome failure. Thomas Edison tried over 1000 time to find the right element that would make the electric light bulb possible. Michael Jordon, one of the greatest Pro-basketball players of all time, accepted the fact that he like everyone else, fails from time to time.

 

You can only achieve great things in life and in business by trying. If you fail, so what, you now know what does not work and you move on and try again. That's the process of learning and success.

[Alowes2837]

I agree with your thoughts and some famous and highly respected business men have done so. However it is easier to say such things as there are not that many ways to get back up from bankrupcy and losing everything nowadays. I would say be very affraid to fail but if you do then so be it at least you had a go.

[xrac]

I agree with your thoughts and some famous and highly respected business men have done so. However it is easier to say such things as there are not that many ways to get back up from bankrupcy and losing everything nowadays. I would say be very affraid to fail but if you do then so be it at least you had a go.

 

Three of the best business people I know have experienced bankruptcy. They have all rose up to fight again. One owned a coal mine and was worth several million dollars ($20-$40,000,000 is my guess). He lost it all due to the local power plant pulling the contract and a strike at the mine due to the union trying to organize. It was brutal and embarrassing. He now has a successful leather goods import business but it has taken him a good 10 years to recover.

 

My Army Ranger service manager was an entrepenuer and experienced a bankruptcy. He was in the mining drilling supply business when the Clean Air Act about shut down high sulfur coal mining here in the Midwest. He closed that business and with a partner went into a Marine business (boats and motors, sales and service). That went well until the partner abscounded with $500,000 (The FBI is still looking for him and he is believed to be in either South or Central America). My service manager was left holding the bag for unpaid bills and UNPAID TAXES. He went bankrupt and then spent 5 years paying off the IRS. Shortly after the bankruptcy when he was trying to decide what to do the manager at the tire shop where his brother worked ask him to change oil for him until he found a job. Greg agreed and started working at $9.00 per hour. The next day the manager came to Greg and asked him if he could put a timing belt in a Toyota Celica. Greg said if he had a book he could do it and he did. After two days he was promoted to a tech with the understanding that his pay would be reviewed after one year if he produced. He produced but the manager reneged and he went to a different shop. Within three years he was a service manager. He had never worked in an auto repair shop before but in a period of 3 1/2 years he rose from oil change boy to service manager and acquired his ASE Master Tech designation. Now I will be more than happy to have him as my partner if we can buy out my inactive partner. Hopeful in a few years I can then sell him the whole business.

 

I will not bore you with my other friend's story but I will say that in 1990 I had no job, only $10,000 in savings, three teenage children, and was a career changer. My wife was earning minimum wage. Five years later I owned a business with seven employees grossing $1,000,000 and I netted $125,000. My point is you can't keep a good man down. Failure is only temporary as long as a man has his brains and health. Nothing can stop a man from eventually succeeding if he has the goods to make it happen in the first place. I am convinced that I could start all over again with nothing and succeed as long as I have my health and God's blessing. I wouldn't want to do it but I believe I could do it. I would not do it in the auto repair business but I think I could do it.

[Joe Marconi]

Great motivating story. It shows the power of the human spirit.

[Gonzo]

Great motivating story. It shows the power of the human spirit.

 

 

Now that's some motivational stories... Thanx for sharing... and don't you also think that this website is another motivating factor? Sharing our ideas and thoughts can in some way help each of us.

 

I have a weekly lunch meeting I attend of nothing but business people (kind of like a Rotary) It's a good stress relief.

 

Bankruptcy is a hard thing to come back from... but it's not impossible. So there's always hope...

 

Nice story Joe... Xrac... excellent.

[Jeff]

Boy can I relate! I am working out of a warehouse with no office or waiting room. It is step backward but I am surviving. And it is in an easier to find location. As I stated in another post I learned my lessons and I will survive. NEVER SAY DIE!!