Three Reasons You Fail
We recently presented our Annual Planning Workshop to our Dojo Members. To kick off the workshop, we presented the 3 Reasons You Fail this year and how to recognized these critical warning signs in your work and life.
Learn now how to recognize these warning indicators and what you can do about them to turn these three areas into strengths that will help you succeed more this year.
Take in the video excerpt from the live workshop, or read the presentation notes below the video. If you want access to the whole workshop, down this resource for more information how to get full access to the two hour workshop.
These are three reasons you failed last year. These are three reasons you would continue to fail this year unless you decide to make a small change.
1. Being Unwilling
We run through a checklist and typically most times or 90% of the time they'll say, "yes we did." 10% of the time we have to stop, go back and answer this because John doesn't have a clear job description. Go get that fixed. Or John needs some Microsoft Excel training. Perhaps John needs some product training or whatever the case is, and they go back and they fix that.
Then we get to the second question. Has the company given the employee all the resources and tools that they need to be successful?
We dive deeper and ask the next question: is it a matter of willingness?
If the employee can't answer confidently, the company brings a guy like me in to help John or Susan figure where to go next. You fail when you don't reach out for help or resources that are available to you now.
Sometimes, employees aren't really willing to do what they agree to do. Their willingness level has to be checked.
People ask me all the time:
- How do I get motivated?
- How do I get started? (because I don't know what to do)
- How do I stay consistent?
Much of this comes back to willingness.
Are you willing to try some new things?
Are you willing to dip your toe in the water and see how warm or cold it is before you make a decision of jumping full in?
You have available to you a lot of small, simple steps that you can take to minimize risk and increase the chances of future rewards. It all comes down to willingness.
Then we get to the second question. Has the company given the employee all the resources and tools that they need to be successful?
We dive deeper and ask the next question: is it a matter of willingness?
Is John or Susan willing to do the job as dictated in their job description or per their employment agreement?
If the employee can't answer confidently, the company brings a guy like me in to help John or Susan figure where to go next. You fail when you don't reach out for help or resources that are available to you now.
Maybe they need to find human resource professionals that can help with an employee assistance program that can assist with a personal problem or make a referral to a specialist.
Sometimes, employees aren't really willing to do what they agree to do. Their willingness level has to be checked.
People ask me all the time:
- How do I get motivated?
- How do I get started? (because I don't know what to do)
- How do I stay consistent?
Much of this comes back to willingness.
Are you willing to try some new things?
Are you willing to dip your toe in the water and see how warm or cold it is before you make a decision of jumping full in?
You have available to you a lot of small, simple steps that you can take to minimize risk and increase the chances of future rewards. It all comes down to willingness.
2. Lack of Knowledge
Number two is knowledge. The most deadly words that people say to me is, "I know that."
If you know it, why aren't you doing it?
You fail most when you don't do the things you know can get you a positive result.
A lot of people put their brain and their knowledge in a prison. You make excuses for lack of learning capability. You might say things such as, "I'm 50 years old. I can't learn anything. Can't teach an old dog new tricks, right?"
Incorrect. Samurai Claire's turning 10 this year. I just taught her a whole new set of tricks in addition to a set of things that we're working on. She's willing to learn as long as I'm willing to teach. She's enthusiastic and ready to go.
People can be the same way. People want to grow and change as long as the willingness is in place and as long as they have an open mind.
If you know it, why aren't you doing it?
You fail most when you don't do the things you know can get you a positive result.
A lot of people put their brain and their knowledge in a prison. You make excuses for lack of learning capability. You might say things such as, "I'm 50 years old. I can't learn anything. Can't teach an old dog new tricks, right?"
Incorrect. Samurai Claire's turning 10 this year. I just taught her a whole new set of tricks in addition to a set of things that we're working on. She's willing to learn as long as I'm willing to teach. She's enthusiastic and ready to go.
People can be the same way. People want to grow and change as long as the willingness is in place and as long as they have an open mind.
3. Being Consumed by Outside Forces
The third reason you will fail this year is allowing outside forces to overtake you. Now, periodically you will come against a personal or work challenge. There will just be something that happens. Perhaps one of your clients says, "I'm done."
The Client goes out of business and you lose a client. Somebody passes away. The government changes the rules and regulations and now it costs you $100,000 more in your business for health and safety inspections or something like that.
Change can be instigated by outside forces. But in every situation that there's a pity party being thrown, there's people who have said, "Hey, I learned how to profit from that." You get to choose if you fail or if you learn and grow by the experience.
We have to deal with the emergencies and external forces working on us. Be a person that has an attitude of willingness. Be the person that's willing to go out and search and find people and resources to support them. Be willing to find new ways of doing things and looking for transferable success practices.
These are the people that can deal with outside forces. You might get a scratch or a dent, but you're going to keep going. Forward momentum is the most important thing.
Henry Ford once said that, "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again this time more intelligently."
My definition of failure is that "failure is feedback."
Failure is feedback that you can build upon.
If you label something as a failure, the real failures in the world are the people that quit and shrink back to their previous self or what they knew before.
The Client goes out of business and you lose a client. Somebody passes away. The government changes the rules and regulations and now it costs you $100,000 more in your business for health and safety inspections or something like that.
Change can be instigated by outside forces. But in every situation that there's a pity party being thrown, there's people who have said, "Hey, I learned how to profit from that." You get to choose if you fail or if you learn and grow by the experience.
We have to deal with the emergencies and external forces working on us. Be a person that has an attitude of willingness. Be the person that's willing to go out and search and find people and resources to support them. Be willing to find new ways of doing things and looking for transferable success practices.
These are the people that can deal with outside forces. You might get a scratch or a dent, but you're going to keep going. Forward momentum is the most important thing.
Henry Ford once said that, "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again this time more intelligently."
My definition of failure is that "failure is feedback."
Failure is feedback that you can build upon.
If you label something as a failure, the real failures in the world are the people that quit and shrink back to their previous self or what they knew before.
Right now, rate each of these areas on a scale of 1 to 10.
1 = disaster, awful, not existent
10 = Oprah will publish a book about you.
10 = Oprah will publish a book about you.
How willing are you to go into 2020, ready to try some new things? Ready to test out some new ways of doing things? Ready to be consistent and hold fast to a path instead of a hundred paths?
Rate your ability to increase your Knowledge.
How would you rate yourself in terms of your knowledge growth? One is that you haven't read a book in 20 years. 10 is you're writing five books this year because you're learning, sharing and growing.
Rate your Resourcefulness.
How adaptable or prepared to deal with outside forces? One is that you go into the fetal position when outside forces come against you. 10 is that you eat it for breakfast.
So rate these categories for yourself and and that'll give you a clear indication of what you need to do. Now, whatever your rating was, the question I have for you today is:
How do you get to the next level of increase?
The question is how do you go from a six to a seven?
Send me an email if you want some additional help getting the answer to the above questions.
