by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
Failing Forward by John Maxwell will guide you step by step in turning mistakes into stepping stones for success. It is emerging as a business classic text for bouncing back from setbacks.
Most everyone in the world who's achieved has a failure, set back, or major obstacle story. The average entrepreneur has 3.8 failures before they finally make it in business.
The key to overcoming setbacks is not so much about changing circumstances, but very much about how you respond and how much you will change yourself. This is one of the major differences between average people and achieving people.
Failing forward is changing your perception and response to failure to what would you attempt to achieve now. Failing forward is about taking responsibility, learning from each mistake, knowing failure is part of progress, maintaining a positive attitude, challenging outdated assumptions, taking new risks, accepting something didn't work and persevering.
Maxwell has a 15-step process for failing forward. The above was the first... changing your perception.
2. Re-define failure and success. Success is more about seeds you plant than rewards you reap. Redefine failure as the price you pay for success.
3. Tell yourself, I'm not a failure, I just failed at doing something. Get "you" out of the way. A failure does not make “you” a failure. Consider the seven abilities for failing forward. Achievers reject rejection, see failure as temporary, isolate incidents, keep realistic expectations, focus on strengths, vary approaches to achievement, bounceback.
4. Get moving, build momentum, maneuver mistakes, move on. Taking action removes fear.
5. Take responsibility where it is your fault. Be real, be honest with yourself, change, get going again. Wake up, but don't give up.
6. Don't let failure form outside you. Failure is an inside job. It's a state of mind--expect the best, remain upbeat, pursue solutions, believe in yourself, stay hopeful--keep a positive attitude.
7. Your past wants to hold you hostage. List the negative events in your life, then release them. Acknowledge the pain, grieve the loss, forgive the person, release it... say goodbye to yesterday.
8. Change your mind. See yourself clearly, flaws honestly, strengths joyfully, and strengths passionately. Win the self battle "to excel, do what you do well." Let others help in what you don't do as well.
9. Get over yourself--everyone else has. We punish ourselves, over play ourselves more than anyone can remember. Put others first, find out others' needs. Start giving of yourself.
10. Treat adversity as a friend. Adversity creates resilience, develops maturity, pushes you to greater performance, provides greater opportunity, prompts innovation, brings unexpected benefits, motivates. It's life's way of making you into who you need to be for greater success... in whatever that is for you.
Grasp the positive benefits of negative experiences. We over estimate the event and under estimate the process. Every fulfilled dream occurred because of dedication to process. Find the benefit in every bad experience.
11. Take risks. We avoid risks because of potential embarrassment, over rationalization, unrealistic expectations, unfairness, waiting for perfect time or inspiration. If at first you don't succeed, try harder. "I'd rather try something great and fail, than try nothing at all."
12. Make failure your best friend. Learn from it. What caused it? Was it really a failure? What success did I have? What can I learn from this? Can I turn it to a success? Who can help me? Where can I go from here? Learning is a change of behavior. So what action can you take now?
13. The top ten reasons people fail. Poor people skills; negative attitude; bad fit; lack of focus; unwillingness to change; short-cut mind set; relying on talent alone; response to poor information; no goals. Find your weaknesses and be willing to work on them. Use a friend for accountability.
14. The little difference between failure and success makes a big difference. Purpose fuels persistence, which you must have. Find compelling passionate purpose, eliminate excuses, develop incentives that motivate you, cultivate a die-hard determination. Write down your dreams, desires with compelling reasons, consider what could go wrong and personally commit to fight through every potential battle.
15. It is what you do after you get back up that counts. Create a new focus and plan to get back up and move forward. Create a new plan. Order your plans. Risk failing and take action. Welcome mistakes and willingly learn from them and change. Advance based on your character. Re-evaluate your progress constantly.
Develop new strategies to Succeed!
Stay determined, work according to a plan and keep getting up when knocked down. Get up, get going, get over it.
Be willing to be a constant problem solver. That's how you eventually get ahead. "Now, that you know how to fail forward, you won't have to give up either. Keep dreaming, and keep failing forward."
If a person would work on one step a week from these 15 steps, team with a friend, they can become a great over comer. Failing Forward is a superior resource for making come backs. More on Maxwell at:
www.maximumimpact.com
When things go wrong, we don't always have the answers to why. There are many things we can start doing to explain things to ourselves and others. The Hebrew writer had an interesting view on this:
"Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever." (Hebrews 10: 32-34, NLT)
And then the Apostle Peter also shares:
"Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world." (1 Peter 4:13, NLT)
He acknowledged this as sharing with Jesus and we will see a wonderful joy through it as we Partner with Jesus. When you compare what the early Christians faced and some of our problems, ours may not seem as bad. But in other cases we may be facing some terrible circumstances in our lives, and we have comfort and direction in that others understand too.
Even beyond that, God Promises His very Spirit that overcomes all things. He promises the very Powerful Spirit that created everything to be there to assist us.
In all things, we always have Jesus Spirit right with us. Jesus said He will be with us Always. I believe the reason for the Spirit is whether alone, in trials, in undesirable situations, we cannot only know He is there but sense, feel, live in Spirit that Jesus Spirit is right there.
Paul reminds us that Christ lives in us.
With that in mind, and knowing that, we in faith have an irrefutable Power for overcoming anything.
How do we make that a living reality? Look at Hebrews 10.
1. We can spend time in the very Presence of God in meditation and prayer. In His Presence we receive His Spirit. His Spirit gives us strength to stand, take beatings if necessary, and to be powerful in action. Because His Spirit will then go before us. When we receive His ideas, His Spirit goes with those ideas we then carry out.
The opportunity is beyond explanation, but the discipline for getting absolutely alone in His presence is the hard part. If we can master it, its benefits will pour into our lives.
The promise: "we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. ...let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him."
(Hebrews 10:19-22, NLT)
This is not a small thing. In the old days, man was killed in God's Presence in the Most Holy Place. Now, we have the privilege to be right there with God. This is highly significant... a powerful promise.
We can enter the very Presence of God, all of His Power for strength, ideas, peace, hope is made available to us. It is the secret to accomplishing anything, coming back from everything. But it doesn't stop there.
2. In Spirit, in the Presence of God, we get ideas for ourselves and to encourage others, and others who do this then encourage us. "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works." (Hebrews 10:24, NLT)
So what happens there is we get incredibly great ideas, God shows us exactly what to do, and we get wonderful ideas for motivating others. We get help and it doesn't stop there, we in turn help others.
3. Meet and communicate to share these. Don't stop with the ideas but get together, call, email others and share with them, inspire them with what has come to mind from being in His Presence.
In faith move on this, because you got the very power of God
working on your behalf now,
and what you say to that person(s) will have wonderful results.... beyond your imagination!
What an incredible God Inspired system for inspiring others to greatness!
"…motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another," (Hebrews 10:25, NLT)
When we meet with someone else who does this too,
we have a fireworks display of ideas, strategies, creative solutions of problems, a wise track to follow, and the Almighty Power of God the Creator at work going before us.
Jesus suffered a serious blow. He was captured and killed. But miraculously He came back from death. His mission was not defeated. He lived again and his mission was an overwhelming success. We too can come back from seemingly total defeat with a success story people can't stop talking about.
We have a miracle-performance formula for moving forward from failures, defeats, and discouragements.
Enter God's Actual Presence;
get His ideas, power and direction;
and meet, communicate with, pray with others
for a motivational and enacting force that is the most powerful force with us from anywhere.
This is the ultimate personal process for failing forward.
We do not then get discouraged or give up.
We press on in the face of anything knowing we share in the Love and Power of Jesus and we not only endure suffering, but will overcome it with great victory.... some day!
When faced in difficulty,
go into the Inner Chamber of Spirit,
and you will over come and rebound overwhelmingly!
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