Schultz on Lucky Misses

 

“Life is a series of near misses. But a lot of what we ascribe to luck is not luck at all. It’s seizing the day and accepting responsibility for your future.”

– Howard Schultz (1953 – )

American entrepreneur, chairman of Starbucks

One thing that’s helpful to me when I catch myself shying away from taking a risk…

I remember that I’m not so important that a mistake or failure will likely have any lengthy impact or be that difficult to overcome with a little extra effort and time. (If you happen to be a head of state, a Supreme Court Justice, or a military general, maybe you need to be a little more careful.)

Coelho on Hobbling Fear

 

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”

–Paulo Coelho (1947 – )
Brazilian writer

Sometimes, if we don’t have success after repeated attempts to do something, we can lose confidence and eventually give up trying. It’s called “learned helplessness” (we learn to be helpless).

Sales check: Any areas where you and your team have stopped trying (or try, but with little commitment) because prior repeated failures and/ or a perceived inability to succeed has trained you not to try? In prospecting and customer contact efforts? In motivating and improving team attitudes and cooperation? With customer care improvement initiatives?

If so, what can you start doing today to minimize any “learned helplessness” that may have set in?

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Jordan on Failing to Succeed

“I’ve failed over and over and
over again in my life. And that is
why I succeed.

–Michael Jordan (1963 – )
American basketball player

The 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament concludes on Monday with the Final Four starting tomorrow night (04.02) at 6 pm EDT.

The quote above is from a commercial by Nike (30 seconds). When you need a well-earned break, enjoy this 4.5 minutes with Michael Jordan in “What is Love?” Great even if you’re not a basketball fan.
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