As if there was one reason why smart people fail.

But in all my hundreds of years of coaching, counseling and training I found one that seems to be the most common.

And it smacked me upside the head this past weekend.

*** ***

Just back from working with Diane at Instant Marketing Professional. It was all kinds of fun on so many different levels.

I got to meet new people from all over North America. People building their businesses.

Serious people, looking to learn how to promote, draw a crowd, turn prospects into friends, customers and advocates.

They were great…all of them. They were also serious. They invested a tidy sum of money and flew or drove to Hartford, Connecticut.

They spent two to four days taking in a ton of information, having the marketing system blown up and starting all over again.

They were the real thing.

By all rights, each one of them should go home, implement everything they learned and take their business to new heights.

And as always…some will, some won’t.

Some people are going to sit on their knowledge and not do a damn thing with it.

What’s up with that?

*** ***

Part of what I did with the folks was a breakout session.  Some of you know I use learning how to juggle as a way to show people what’s possible, even when they don’t see it.

One of the ladies I was working with – we’ll call her Ruth – was going through the steps. The first one is simple…throw a ball up in the air, hit an imaginary bell, and catch it.

The first time she tried it, she missed. The ball hit the floor.

No big deal.

But I watched Ruth’s body language.

A sigh. Drooping shoulders.

I knew what to do next.

I pointed out what she had done.

I grabbed Ruth’s shoulders and straightened them out.

I gave Ruth a giant hug and kiss on the forehead.

(Pretty bold move for someone I just met that weekend.)

The way we respond to mistakes tells us everything about where we’re going.

Somewhere along the way Ruth got the message that it wasn’t OK to screw up.

So when a tennis ball hit the floor, she experienced failure.

I pointed it out to her…

And she started to cry.

*** ***

Get this, and get this now…

You are supposed to fail your way to success.

It’s how we grow.

It’s HOW TO RECEIVE the blessings of being human.

It’s how to go from weak to strong.

From afraid to confident.

Do yourself a favor…

Next time you beat yourself up for something you screwed up on…

Straighten your back.

Put your chest out.

Put a smile on your face.

Change your response to mistakes.

Learn to receive the joy of being human…

Including the sense of fun and play that comes from screwing up.

That’s how you get to experience the joy of receiving success.

 

 

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