1. Challenges have been a constant in my life. I can’t even begin to tell you the
amount of mistakes I’vemade. I’vefailed time and time again, and then some
more. And I’mnot alone. Everyonefails. It’s importantto realise this. Nobody
is perfect – and quite frankly, I wouldn’twantto be. Imperfections build
character and equip us to be resilient for whatever life throws at us
Too many people see failure as a dead end, particularly when starting out. This
is the biggest mistake of all. The road to success is pock-marked with bumps,
chasms and forks, butthe key is to look at them as obstacles not road blocks.
Obstacles, which once you’velearned to navigate around, will make you more
capable and adept at handling similar situations in the future.
Someone that has never driven a car before might not know to slow down
when approaching a speedbump. Their reaction instead might be to stop or hit
it at the speed at which they are already travelling, causing them to break
down. Either way, they will quickly recognisethat there is a better way of
doing things. In this respect, every challenge can be turned into an opportunity
for learning a valuable lesson.
My advice for an unsuccessfulstart –be it failure when setting up a business or
a mistake when starting a job – is to pick yourself up, brush yourself off, don’t
let your ego get the better of you, recognisewhatwent wrong, and learn from
your experience.
And don’tlet it embarrass you either. When you do makemistakes, shareyour
experience with others. Across morethan 40 years in business I haveturned to
my family at times when I havebeen struggling. It’s amazing how much a fresh
pair of eyes and ears can help you sound out a challenge and teach you ways
around it.
Failure is often a blessing in disguise. As the saying goes,
"A smooth sea never made a skilful sailor”
Leah Phillips-Author