I’m sure that every one of us has seen the inspirational “failure” quotes.  (Is that an oxymoron, or what?)  Messages like “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take” (Wayne Gretzky) and “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed” (Michael Jordan).

While all of these quotes ring true, and seek to teach valuable lessons, I‘m doubtful most people truly think of every failure as a ‘win’. I know I sure don’t.  So, what are some key steps we can take to transition ourselves into that ‘inspirational failure’ mindset?

  1. Make a list – ok I ‘ll admit it: I am a list person. If it’s not on my list, I promise you, I will forget it. So how about starting a list of times I have blown it? Times when “cold calls” have hung up on me. Times when candidates have withdrawn at the last minute.  WHY would I do that?  Well, because right then and there I can learn a lesson and add to that list what I would do different next time…to hopefully achieve a different result.
  2. Practice Failing– Say What? Seriously, folks – I can’t say it enough.   Practice.  Practice. When I was a Junior Recruiter and new to this business, I called my Mom and “recruited” her.  I made my Husband listen to my cold calls.  My best friends were sick to death of me running practice scripts by them. However, if I sounded dumb, they told me.  If I sounded overly scripted, they told me.  If I sounded like I had absolutely no idea what I was talking about – they told me!  Lesson learned from that?  Go back to the drawing board and try it again. And then practice, again.  If you’re going to fail at first, do it in front of the people that love and support you, and learn from each encounter

Turning failure into success is something we can all do, if our mindset is right.  Shift your mindset from “I am a failure” to “I have failed but I can thrive if I keep going.”  That, my friends, takes work – but work we must put in to be successful in our industry.

 

Written By: Chrissy Kelly-Corne CTS, CPC

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