I Have Never Failed!...Have You?

IT may sound strange and unbelievable, but allow me to say that “You have never failed”. Have you ever beaten yourself silly, criticised yourself or even received harsh words from others who considered you a failure at something? Has someone, anyone, ever called you a failure?

Photo courtesy of  irrationalliving.com

Give me a moment to remind you of a true story, the story of Thomas Edison, the man credited with inventing the light bulb. History has it that Thomas Edison's teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything." He was fired from his first two jobs for being "non-productive." As an inventor, some say Edison made more than 1000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail so many times?" Edison replied, "I didn’t fail those times. I simply found so many ways how not to create a light bulb.” Waoh!!!

The moral of this energising story is that Thomas Edison, much as he tried about 1000 times to invent the light bulb and didn't, he did not fail. He had 1000 unexpected results until his Eureka moment. For you, all the many times you have tried and tried at a business venture, a project or whatever task you set out, and did not get the results as expected, permit me to say that you did not fail. You are not a failure. You only had unexpected results. I have had many many unexpected results myself.

Photo courtesy of career.uconn.edu

You only fail at a task or project when you give up, when you throw in the towel because you have been battered by the vicissitudes of life. You don't fail when you stick in there, hands to the plough, teeth locked and mind determined, you don't fail! You do not fail when like a flint, your focus is stayed on the target. You may only get an unexpected result, not failure.

So I say to you to pick it up again, that business proposal long forgotten in the shelves of lost hope and past attempts, and try again. Yes, try again! I challenge you to knock on that difficult door again, that door long shut against you, knock again. Call that prospective client again, try that venture again. Just do it, again. It would seem that the most successful people in life and business are the people who have 'failed' the most, or put in another way, met with the most unexpected results.

Sure it may be helpful to look at your package or proposal again and repackage it. Get a second eye, and do the needful. But please don't give up. This next attempt may just be the beginning of your new dawn, but how would we know if you don't try it again. Like I would always say, do it today, do it now, tomorrow belongs to the womb.

chukwuemeka okereafor

I am available to creatively:

-  anchor, facilitate or compere your corporate events

-  speak to and train your team

-  produce content and visibility for you or your organisation

- write your speeches, citations, press releases, advertorials and advert copies

-  provide mass media and public relations consultancy

- produce radio and TV jingles, documentaries and other media outputs

-  create community engagement media for your community outreach

- capture and document your meetings, sessions, workshops, public outings and other important events using photographic, audio and video equipment.

You can reach me directly on +234 (0)805 334 0599. You may also write to P O Box 11758, Garki, Abuja, Nigeria or email chukwuemeka@chukwuemeka.org. My twitter account is @Chukwuemeka777 or @iamchukwuemeka, on Skype I am Chukwuemeka Okereafor.

Thank you for allowing me into your world.