The $340 Million Die Hard Entrepreneur “Gurbaksh Chahal” Shares His Advice For Success

I was fortunate enough to catch up with the $340 Million Silicon Valley Entrepreneur “Gurbaksh Chahal” this week to find out what it takes to succeed in life and in business.

Gurbaksh had sold 2 successful online advertising companies by the age of 25 for a total of $340 Million and is onto his 3rd and biggest company yet, RadiumOne. Gurbaksh will be launching RadiumOne in over 70 markets and is excited to announce that Australia is one of them.

Below is amazing success advice from a die hard entrepreneur Gurbaksh Chahal:

 

Joel – The first company you created “Click Agents” was founded by you at the age of 16 and not long after that, it sold for $40 million. Nine years later you sold your second company “Blue Lithium” to Yahoo for $300 Million. Making close to half a billion dollars in the space of 9 years, can you tell us, is there some secret formula that we should know about?

Gurbaksh – Well I think the secret formula comes down to success in general, and you’ve got to constantly keep an open mind, be creative, and don’t be afraid to re-invent yourself.

When I was 16 I didn’t really have a clue about business, so you could say “I got lucky“, whatever that means. The second time around I learned what it was really like to be a CEO and I believe that both of these opportunities have prepared me for my current company, by every metric whether it’s revenue, size, opportunity, mission or geography, RadiumOne is the biggest of all of my endeavours.

 

Joel – Do you believe it when they say “Ignorance is bliss”? Do you feel that when you were younger that maybe you were a bit ignorant and that could be the reason why you didn’t see a lot of the obstacles ahead of you that some of the more experienced and older entrepreneurs would have been scared of?

Gurbaksh – I wouldn’t say “Ignorant,” because I think the thing that was probably my biggest virtue was that I didn’t know the meaning of failure.

The older you get with the traditional message of schooling, or the methods of society, whether it’s family, friends or situational you end up trying to play it safe. At 16 I didn’t really know what I could lose. There is an essence of, when you are fearless, you become more creative, and the more fearless I became, the more creative I was.

 

Joel – What would you say has been one of the biggest fears you have ever faced and what did you do to overcome it?

Gurbaksh – So here’s the thing, there is constant fear in business. You’ve got to have the stamina to realise that is the very path to success and you’ve got to be able to stomach it.

There has been several times when I have put everything on the line and I have had to re-invent myself or I’ve had to hire a completely new leadership team and make significant product changes and all of those were betting the company on something.

All of those are triumphs to success, so there’s no real path, success is never linear, it’s almost like a hockey stick. The more risk you take, the more of a U-Shape formula you should end up with.

 

Joel – I just came back from a holiday in “India,” I understand you were born there but grew up in San Francisco. One stand out thing that I noticed over there is that they are very committed to their traditions.

Do you still carry on any traditions from the motherland?

Gurbaksh – From a cultural stand point and a family stand point I am Indian by heart, but at the same time I’m probably more spiritual at the end of the day, and that’s defined in the inner you and I think that defines who we are as people.

Living a life that has a greater purpose and living up to it is the ultimate degree that we should strive for.

 

Joel – How do you balance your life? I find it a challenge at times to balance mine, and I only run a blog and a couple of other business ventures so I could only imagine that you would have your plates pretty full most days.

Gurbaksh – At the end of the day, you have to look at success itself as a balance. There are a significant amount of things that you have to do to achieve happiness at the end of the day. Nonetheless, you’ve got to make sure you have balance in your life.

There are a number of things that we need to do as entrepreneurs to be successful, but what is success at the end of the day? Is it your bank account? Is it happiness? I think that at the end of the day it’s happiness.

In an article I did for LinkedIn, I talked about un-plugging yourself from the wired world. The importance of continued learning, giving back, less over thinking, being grateful for what you have, realizing that relationships are everything in life, making peace with your past, being authentic and learning how to forgive.

 

Joel – Where do you see the world heading with technology and how do you stay on the curve of innovation?

Gurbaksh – One of the key paths to technology is that it changes significantly and quickly. I have been blessed as I have stuck to my roots of advertising technology and I have been given the opportunity to re-shape it and create it 3 times around now and I think the key secret there is that you should stick to what you know.

I’m a very different entrepreneur than many others. I look at Elon Musk and think of him as a genius because he is that guy that can juggle many different things in many different industries, but I don’t think many of us can do that. Even when you look at the late Steve Jobs, he re-defined 8 different industries.

I, on the other hand just stuck to my core which I think is kind of a testament were “If you can do everything that’s great, but if you can be really great at just one thing then that’s also not bad.” I have looked at that as an opportunity and a blessing to continue to innovate.

Part of the key metrics to success in an enterprise is to know how far you are really willing to take it. Are you pushing the boundaries? You can’t make safe bets.

Even today, 4 years into this, 300 employees worldwide, profitability, significant amount of revenue and so forth, the decisions I make as the CEO goes from choosing the color palette on the website, choosing the design of what the reporting looks like, down to what the product ends up becoming.

So you really have to:

• Be someone who pays attention to detail
• Be creative
• Problem solve
• And always be creative with the way you solve those problems.

 

Joel – What is your true definition of success?

Gurbaksh – I think success is defined by understanding purpose. If you live a life of purpose then you’ll never be bored.

What was something Gurbaksh said that resonated most with you and why? Share with us below!

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https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/the-340-million-die-hard-entrepreneur-gurbaksh-chahal-shares-his-advice-for-success/

5 Characteristics That We Can Learn From Our Children for a Happier, Fuller Life

Remember the last time an infant gazed innocently into your eyes and smiled? Those wide, uncritical eyes have the power to elicit a bliss that eludes us most of the time. For an instant, life feels beautiful and worth living. As we grow older, the worries and concerns brought forth by life prevent us from enjoying our natural state of happiness.

Learning to maintain that natural state of happiness by emulating a child should not be a euphoria. As Henry James puts it in “Live all you can; it’s a mistake not to. It doesn’t so much matter what you do in particular so long as you have your life. If you haven’t had that what have you had?”

Following, are the five basic childlike characteristics that we can learn from our children for a happier, fuller life:

1. They are amazingly inquisitive

If you have ever been in the company of a child, you are used for their constant questioning. Asking questions is a deeply ingrained biological blueprint allowing a child to make sense of the world around them. A study conducted by Ranganath, a psychologist at the University of California, found that curiosity can increase our memory.

Curiosity is directly associated with the hippocampus, a small organ located in the temporal lobe responsible for information processing and long-term memory. Cultivating childlike curiosity can decrease internal inconsistencies and conflicts with others. An inquisitive mind instead of a lockstep mind will lead to human beings embracing diversity which will, in return lead to a happier life.

“Play is the highest of form of research.” – Albert Einstein

2. They are playful

Being playful has a host of benefits that most of us are simply not aware of. The greatest thinkers of our time have embraced being playful as being one of the main tenets of creativity and inspiration. David Keller, founder and chairman of IDEO admits that the time he spent playing, making and breaking things were the most rewarding.

The American psychologist Abraham Maslow is perhaps the greatest proponents of playfulness. Playfulness has been found to increase focus, humility, courage and more importantly flexibility.

Playful people have a positive life outlook that give them more resilience to face the adversities of life. They are fully-functioning beings with low degrees of self-conflict and with more maturity. Remember the last time you were playful? How did you feel? Wouldn’t you want to experience to that happy state again?

3. They are always fully present

Have you ever noticed a child performing a task? Regardless of how mundane the task is, they get so caught up, that time seems to stand still. They are fully present. Being fully present means having your focus, your attention, your thoughts and feelings all fixed on the task at hand.

Mindfulness originated 2000 years ago exemplifying the importance of being fully present. Since its inception, it has helped countless people fight anxiety and stress and increase focus among others.

Life is so full of worries and regrets that compete for our attention, that “being fully present” represents an unattainable goal. Just like a child, being fully present can make us better listeners, build a tougher immune system and have more happiness. From today you have the duty to bring your undivided attention to whatever task at hand. This is one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves and those around us.

4. They are not afraid of judgment

I have had the opportunity to teach public speaking and English to preschoolers. One of my biggest realizations is that my preschool kids improve faster than their older counterparts. Why? As a child grows older, they become self-conscious, and consequently become less willing to practice.

This is analogous to adults; the plurality of the expectations placed upon us makes us become less expressive, we don’t take risks, get complacent and laziness starts to set in. Like a child, we have the right not to let others’ perception or self-imposed limitations prevents us from failing, learning and improving.

Learn to fail and fail to learn as if there was no tomorrow. What have you been putting off because of fear of failure? A quick challenge for you. Think of a task you’ve been putting off. Now, use a fresh, naïve, childlike approach, act as if fear of being judged was not on the table, how would the situation change? Chances are a change of perspective was all you needed to breakthrough.

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” – Mother Teresa

5. They forgive and forget

Ever see a child fret after being reprimanded? How long did it take them to get back to their natural, happy state? Children have the amazing capacity to regain their initial level of joy almost immediately after being punished. They hold no grudge, they forgive and forget.

As is with any skill, this is a skill we can learn with practice. While it may be reasonable to be angry when offended, sometimes we hold to the anger more than necessary. We talk about it, we think about it, we even lose sleep over it. Unknowingly the problem becomes a priority.

We forget that people don’t do us wrong because of who we are but because of who they are. The best we can do is to let it go…forgive and forget. We cannot afford to carry a grudge around, as it will do more harm than good. Think of someone you need to forgive, call them right now and forgive and see how you feel.

I am confident the same reason that drew you to this article will also motivate you to take action. The principles may sound simple, but they are not easy. The commitment to a fuller, happier life for yourself and those around you is well worth the cost of trying. May you enjoy a happy, fulfilling life that I believe is yours by right.

What is something valuable that you have learned from children? Comment below!

Image courtesy of Twenty20.com

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https://addicted2success.com/life/5-characteristics-that-we-can-learn-from-our-children-for-a-happier-fuller-life/

Perseverance is a Major Key to a Life of Success

Each of us thrives on being successful and in doing so we often forget the difficulties lying in the path to success. We set targets and want to achieve them right away, but we are humans and may fall short on those goals.

Failure at the start can lead to frustration, and it shatters the self-confidence you had at the beginning. You might consider giving up on your dreams because you don’t feel like you can ever succeed in life.

Success, despite the popular belief, isn’t a one-way path or a straight line. It is a muddled road with various ups and downs, and you should navigate it with popular care. You might fall or get lost in your way. However, if you keep going, you will eventually reach your destination.

Have you ever wondered how some prominent personalities achieved great heights of success? What did those individuals do that set them apart from the rest of us? How did they stay positive, when faced with failure?

Undoubtedly, successful people must have some secret ingredient that helped them throughout their journey. How can we get our hands on that special ingredient?

Let’s see what two successful people have to say about perseverance:

Everyone knows the great Muhammad Ali, and when asked if he liked his training he replied: “I hated every minute of training, but I said to myself, ‘Don’t quit, suffer now, and live the rest of your life as a champion.’”

He would push himself to the limit when preparing for his fights by refused to quit when things got hard for him. This key characteristic is what made him a legend in boxing.

The author of Harry Potter series, J. K. Rowling, is another example of success. The manuscript for the first book was rejected by 12 publishers before Bloomsbury took it. Here’s what she has to say about her failure; “Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged.”

Muhammad Ali and J.K Rowling kept on going, remained persistent, and their perseverance helped them reach the peak of the mountain.

“When the world says, “Give up,” Hope whispers, “Try it one more time.” – Unknown

What is Perseverance?

Perseverance: Steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. Perseverance is an essential element when you need to achieve a high level of success. It is a great tool to use, and it doesn’t require any college education or training. It comes naturally and requires a strong will.    

It doesn’t matter what your goal is or how long it takes you to reach that goal. The chances of your success depend largely on your willingness to persist and persevere.

If you truly want something, but you quit, you’ll never know if it would’ve come true for you. All it takes is one “yes” for your dreams to become a reality. Don’t stop trying.

Perseverance means, to go on no matter what is in the way, to remain steadfast in accomplishing the difficult task. It requires a higher level of patience to develop perseverance in you.

In addition to helping you master the skill of patience, here are some other perks of perseverance:

Trustworthiness: Someone who practices perseverance is more trustworthy than the rest, people know you are not going to quit, no matter how hard the situation gets. You will hold your ground.

Gives you self-confidence: It increases your sense of self-worth and confidence. You start taking full ownership of the goals you have set to achieve. You become a firm believer that your destiny is in your hands. You perceive to control your own fate.

“I am not judged by the number of times I fail, but by the number of times I succeed: and the number of times I succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times I fail and keep trying.” – Tom Hopkins

Heightens your Motivation

Perseverance can be summed up to mean you’re committed to your goal. Additionally, it enhances the goal’s value for you and intensifies your motivation level. It leads you to wonderful findings, and broadens your knowledge about yourself and your goals.

It is a well-established fact that success is not achieved overnight. There is no such thing as get rich fast successes in the world. The road to success is a slow and quite precarious journey at times. It takes hard work and time to build up and makes you solely responsible for your progress.

Perseverance that’s the key to a successful life. If you keep persevering long enough, you will achieve your true potential. Just remember, you can do anything you set your mind to, but it takes action, persistence, and the courage to face your fears.

How has being perseverant helped you succeed in life? Let us know by sharing your story below!

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https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/perseverance-is-a-major-key-to-a-life-of-success/

55 Inspirational Quotes That Will Change Your Life

Today we have decided to feature some of the world’s top inspirational life quotes for you to love, share and remember. Quotes are those little reminders that we all need now and then and some are powerful enough to inspire us for the whole week.

So here is the beautiful collection of Inspirational life quotes that are loved and highly shared throughout our Twitter & Facebook pages.

Inspirational Life Quotes

“Just know, when you truly want success, you’ll never give up on it. No matter how bad the situation may get.” – Unknown

 

“Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” – Les Brown

 

“I don’t regret the things I’ve done, I regret the things I didn’t do when I had the chance.” – Unknown

 

“Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” – Joshua J. Marine

 

“Its hard to wait around for something you know might never happen; but its harder to give up when you know its everything you want.” – Unknown

 

“One of the most important keys to Success is having the discipline to do what you know you should do, even when you dont feel like doing it.” – Unknown

 

“Good things come to those who wait… greater things come to those who get off their ass and do anything to make it happen.” – Unknown

 

“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, or worn. It is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace & gratitude.” – Denis Waitley

 

“In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.” – Bill Cosby

 

“Go where you are celebrated – not tolerated. If they can’t see the real value of you, it’s time for a new start.” – Unknown

 

Dont be afraid to stand for what you believe in, even if that means standing alone.. – Andy Biersack

 

“The best revenge is massive success.” – Frank Sinatra

 

“Forget all the reasons it won’t work and believe the one reason that it will.” – Unknown

 

“I am thankful for all of those who said NO to me. Its because of them I’m doing it myself.” – Albert Einstein

 

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” – Steve Jobs

 

“Life is short, live it. Love is rare, grab it. Anger is bad, dump it. Fear is awful, face it. Memories are sweet, cherish it.” – Unknown

 

“When you say “It’s hard”, it actually means “I’m not strong enough to fight for it”. Stop saying its hard. Think positive!” – Unknown

 

“Life is like photography. You need the negatives to develop.” – Unknown

 

“Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.” – Jack Canfield

 

“The pain you feel today is the strength you feel tomorrow. For every challenge encountered there is opportunity for growth.” – Unknown

 

“Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs.” – Farrah Gray

 

“The only thing that stands between you and your dream is the will to try and the belief that it is actually possible.” – Joel Brown

 

“Self confidence is the most attractive quality a person can have. how can anyone see how awesome you are if you can’t see it yourself?” – Unknown

 

“We learn something from everyone who passes through our lives.. Some lessons are painful, some are painless.. but, all are priceless.” – Unknown

 

“Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. it means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.” – Unknown

 

“Nobody ever wrote down a plan to be broke, fat, lazy, or stupid. Those things are what happen when you don’t have a plan.” – Larry Winget

 

“Three things you cannot recover in life: the WORD after it’s said, the MOMENT after it’s missed and the TIME after it’s gone. Be Careful!” – Unknown

 

“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” – Carl Bard

 

“When the past calls, let it go to voicemail, believe me, it has nothing new to say.” – Unknown

 

“Rule #1 of life. Do what makes YOU happy.” – Unknown

 

“Walk away from anything or anyone who takes away from your joy. Life is too short to put up with fools.” – Unknown

 

“Love what you have. Need what you want. Accept what you receive. Give what you can. Always remember, what goes around, comes around…” – Unknwon

 

“Just remember there is someone out there that is more than happy with less than what you have.” – Unknown

 

“The biggest failure you can have in life is making the mistake of never trying at all.” – Unknown

 

“Life has two rules: #1 Never quit #2 Always remember rule # 1.” – Unknown

 

“No one is going to hand me success. I must go out & get it myself. That’s why I’m here. To dominate. To conquer. Both the world, and myself.” – Unknown

 

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney

 

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill

 

“Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.” – Will Rogers

 

“People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Rob Siltanen

 

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost

 

“Magic is believing in yourself, if you can do that, you can make anything happen.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 

“Great things never came from comfort zones.” – Neil Strauss

 

“When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things.” – Joe Namath

 

“We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it.” – Barack Obama

 

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” – T.S. Eliot

 

“Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”- Mark Twain

 

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” – Helen Keller

 

“A ship is always safe a shore but that is not what it’s built for.” – Albert Einstein

 

“Shoot for the moon and if you miss you will still be among the stars.” – Les Brown

 

“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J. R. R. Tolkien

 

“In order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd.” – Miguel de Cervantes

 

“Life is not always a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well.” – Jack London

 

We hope you enjoyed these inspirational life quotes today.

Please don’t forget to share these with your friends, family and followers to brighten their day and inspire them to live a better life.

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https://addicted2success.com/quotes/37-inspirational-quotes-that-will-change-your-life/

41 Motivational Quotes To Destroy Your Doubts & Build You Up

Great Motivational Quotes can be the fuel to your fire when things are getting tough. We believe that everybody needs a motivational reminder during challenging times, even if you are well accomplished.

The following collection of motivational quotes will inspire you and remind you that we all have the power inside of us to achieve amazing and wonderful things.

Below are 41 Motivational Quotes To Build You Up:

1. “The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them.” – Denis Watiley

2. “In my experience, there is only one motivation, and that is desire. No reasons or principle contain it or stand against it.” – Jane Smiley

3. “I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.” – Diane Ackerman

4. “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Ryun

5. “There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.” – Ella Wheeler Wilcox

6. “You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” – George Lorimer

7. “To be successful you must accept all challenges that come your way. You can’t just accept the ones you like.” – Mike Gafka

8. “Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” – Wayne Dyer

9. “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe.” – Anatole France

10. “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no help at all.” – Dale Carnegie

11. “You measure the size of the accomplishment by the obstacles you had to overcome to reach your goals.” – Booker T. Washington

12. “Real difficulties can be overcome; it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable.” – Theodore N. Vail

13. “Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last-minute of the game, one foot from a winning touchdown.” – H. Ross Perot

14. “Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above it.” – Washington Irving

15. “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” – Margaret Thatcher

16. “A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.” – Vince Lombardi

17. “So long as there is breath in me, that long I will persist. For now I know one of the greatest principles on success; if I persist long enough I will win.” – Og Mandino

18. “Perseverance is a great element of success; if you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate you are sure to wake up somebody.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

19. “The average person puts only 25% of his energy and ability into his work. The world takes off its hat to those who put in more than 50% of their capacity, and stands on its head for those few and far between souls who devote 100%.” – Andrew Carnegie

20. “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden

21. “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” – Charles R. Swindoll

22. “With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

23. “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.” – Og Mandino

24. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” –Nelson Mandela

25. “The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power.” – Unknown

26. “Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.” – Bo Jackson

27. “You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.” – Rabindranath Tagore

28. “The dog that trots about finds a bone.” – Golda Meir

29. “Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.” – Robert H. Schuller

30. “If you fell down yesterday, stand up today.” –H. G. Wells

31. “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill

32. “Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” – Walter Elliot

33. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe

34. “I can, therefore I am.” – Simone Weil

35. “When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.” – Elon Musk

36. “Well done is better than well said.” – Benjamin Franklin

37. “Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.” – John F. Kennedy

38. “The people who influence you are the people who believe in you.” – Henry Drummond

39. “After a storm comes a calm.” – Matthew Henry

40. “Beware of monotony; it’s the mother of all the deadly sins.” – Edith Wharton

41. “Every exit is an entry somewhere else.” – Tom Stoppard

I hope you enjoyed this collection of motivational quotes, please do not forget to share this post with your friends and family.

Feature Image courtesy of Film.com

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https://addicted2success.com/quotes/41-motivational-quotes-to-break-your-doubts-build-you-up/

An in Depth Guide to Figuring Out Why You’re Failing

Here’s something we all know about failing, it’s a process with an ending that we all want to avoid. Failure, contrary to popular belief, isn’t just an undesirable ending, It’s also a terrible beginning. It easily metastasizes into guilt, shame, anxiety, self-doubt, and depression; all of which inevitably lead to more failure. But what is the process of failing exactly, and how do you find out how and why you’re engaged in it?

The human mind is evolutionarily attuned to failure since it can equate to the potential for danger. Therefore failure is much more noticeable to us than success. So while you may feel like you are failing in one area of life at any given time, it’s likely that you are also succeeding in some other area. Maybe things aren’t so great in your love life, but you’re doing a great job with your fitness regimen. Maybe your career isn’t where you want it to be, but you’ve cultivated amazing relationships.

So what separates success and failure? Since failing is a process, then it stands to reason that so is succeeding. At a very high level it comes down to one thing: differing patterns of action. A pattern of action that yields undesirable results is a failure. A pattern of action that yields the result you want is successful. Looking at what makes you successful is a great way to figure out how to avoid failure.

There are at least three implications inherent in the sentence: “A pattern of action that gives you the results you want is successful.” Let’s look at them one by one.

1. A pattern of action that yields the results you want is successful – If succeeding in life were as simple as repeating one successful action over and over, the world would be a much simpler place. As it is, an adaptable pattern of action is necessary to reach your goals. Whenever you are successful it is because you are flexible enough to adapt to the ever changing situations you are engaged in.
2. A pattern of action that yields the results you want is successful – When you achieve success, it is always because you take action. Success without effort is called luck, and it’s not something one can meaningfully strive for. Working towards something actively is the only way to actually reach it.
3. A pattern of action that yields the results you want is successful – Taking action is only useful when it is towards a specific goal. This means that a measurable goal of some kind is built into the definition of success. Moreover that goal must be something you want which is of value to you.

“If you learn from defeat, you haven’t really lost.” – Zig Ziglar

So what does this say about failing and how you can identify why it’s happening? Since we’ve already looked at the elements of success, let’s look at the definition of failure using the same framework:

1. A pattern of action that yields undesirable results is a failure – Some patterns of action work better than others. When trying to succeed it’s important to recognize when the patterns you find yourself engaging in are not working, and to make changes to those patterns appropriately. Change is the key word here: If you are failing and refusing to make changes, your failure is assured. It is also important to view failing as an opportunity. Any failed strategy can be safely ruled out and learned from if one has the openness and flexibility to change.
2. A pattern of action that yields undesirable results is a failure – Teddy Roosevelt famously said: “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” Inaction is the most insidious form of failure. Doing nothing breeds feelings of failure just as strongly as working in the wrong direction, but it doesn’t tell you anything about what you could be doing differently. It is also the most surefire way to bring about actual failure since no one ever accidentally stagnates into success.
3. A pattern of action that yields undesirable results is a failure – Failure to reach a specified goal is disheartening, but as with all things, it can give you information about what to do differently to keep you from failing. However, the failure to specify a specific and theoretically achievable objective is catastrophic. A blurry target can never be hit. If you fail to carefully spell out your goals, then there is no possible way to actually reach them. In that same vein, if your goals are things you don’t actually desire, then even your success in reaching them will fit the definition of failure.

“I have to believe that when things are bad I can change them.” – James J. Braddock

If this sounds deceptively simple than that’s because it is. But it is not only a roadmap away from failure, it’s also the basis of individual character development. Considering the twin definitions of success and failure can give you a deep understanding of what is going wrong whenever you find yourself not progressing towards your goals.

The implications are clear:

• Set goals that are inspiring and attainable. Aim high, but be sure that whatever goal you have can be broken down into things you can actually accomplish. Focusing on the actions you can take to bring about success keeps you focused on the day and not on the seeming impossibility of your goal.
• Work hard to bring about the outcomes you want. Do not fall victim to failure by inaction. It’s the most surefire path to regret.  
• Above all cultivate flexibility. The ability to change is what allows even your failures to breed future success.

In the end, much of our success or failure is dependent upon things not entirely under our control, and no one lives a life unmarred by failure of any kind. We can still, however, strongly contribute to enhancing the likelihood of one over the other. That may make it sound like a nudge is the best you can do, but it’s important to remember that a nudge is the difference between a glass shattered on the floor and one sitting whole on a table.

Life, in its endless complexity and unpredictability, offers no guarantees. Hope arises with the understanding that failure is not something that happens to you, it is something that you either contribute to or combat, as is success. Careful observing your patterns of action will tell you which one you’re doing.

Just as looking to your successes can show you why you’re failing, looking to your failures can tell you how to succeed.

from
https://addicted2success.com/life/an-in-depth-guide-to-figuring-out-why-youre-failing/

24 Wise Carl Jung Quotes To Transform Your Life

He is the most awe-inspiring author I’ve ever read, and the depth of his wisdom never ceases to amaze me. A renowned Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Carl Jung founded the discipline of analytical psychology. His education was truly unique – biology, psychology, mythology, religion, literature, philosophy, anthropology and much more. I have collected these wise […]

The post 24 Wise Carl Jung Quotes To Transform Your Life appeared first on MotivationGrid.

from
https://motivationgrid.com/24-wise-carl-jung-quotes-transform-your-life/