John’s Bounce Back

Dear lovely people,

It was John’s 20^th job interview in a row. I met him at home completely devastated. “Is it that I am not meant for a job? Is it that God has turned his back to me or is it that I am outright stupid and can’t give straight and needed answers in a job interview?” He fired these questions at me in a string as if I was the source of his dilemmas and so I sat him down for a talk….

I told john that he is not alone. Everyone fails and some of the times, many people fail many times over. Yes, everyone. If someone claims to have never failed they're either lying or have never tried very hard and I would like to meet someone who has never tried something. Each time you meet really successful people, you are meeting people who at one point in their life hit the bottom of the bottom but what is special about them is that they did not remain down there, they actually got right back up and did it again, again and again.

Just because you didn’t reach a specific goal you set no matter how important it is, that doesn’t mean you can’t still do what you’d like to do if you really want to. It’s not over just because you didn’t create one specific outcome. If you keep doing what you love, you will inevitably identify new possibilities that will fulfill you. I got John here. My message went straight into his inner being and trust me, he was on a job three months later. Sometimes, you just have to focus on the process, not the results.

I always tell people that life really doesn't care about your good intentions. Some of the times, even rock-hard resolve and endless hard work can't shield us from the unanticipated knocks and spirals that derail our plans and rudely leave us in the uncomfortable bosom of failure. The question is, how do you manage that reality? 

At such a point in time, the one sure way out is to accept and to a greater extent, expect the unexpected. That opens you up to seek growth. Believe it or not, there are lots of benefits to failure. In fact, failure can actually be the most valuable learning opportunity out there! But not if you don't take the time to examine the experience in-depth. As painful as it may be, you'll be doing yourself a huge favor when you seek to understand why you failed and what you can do differently next time to avoid a similar outcome.