Past Failure - The Thing That Stops You From Building a Business

Past Failure - The Thing That Stops You From Building a Business

Dr. Linda Hancock

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Hancock has written a regular weekly column entitled “All Psyched Up” for newspapers in two Canadian provinces for more than a dozen years. Over the years, her readers and clients have said that they have benefited from her common-sense solutions, wisdom, and sense of humour. Dr. Linda Hancock, the author of “Life is An Adventure…every step of the way” and “Open for Business Success” is a Registered Psychologist who has a private practice in Medicine Hat. She can be reached at 403-529-6877 or through email office@drlindahancock.com

Published

January 7 2011

Everyone fails at something. Many of us fail at several things. But that isn't a reason to stop trying.

I remember when I started my first job. I was working in a government agency and at the young age of sixteen years, thought I had it made! There was a posting for a senior position on the job board and I was bold enough to apply for it. Human Resources told me that I couldn't apply because I hadn't finished my three-month probationary period yet. But the Union Representative found out and my application was honoured based on the fact that the start date was after my three-month probationary period would be completed.

Part of the decision-making process was for me to type a letter which was on Dictaphone. Now I had never seen one of these machines before and was shocked when they rolled what appeared to be a small barbecue next to my desk. I asked how it worked and was told that I was not allowed help but the power was turned on and the tester told me to push the pedal on the floor to hear the person who had done the dictation.

Well...the dictator had a strong Scottish accent and the content of his letter was also very foreign to me as it was filled with vocabulary that was industry specific.

This was in the time of manual typewriters, carbon paper and use of razor blades for scraping errors from the paper.

Needless to say, I failed!

Now you have to remember that I was a naïve sixteen year old. The next day I asked Human Resources if I got the job. Did I get a look!

Again I was shocked when the Union Representative informed me that I had the job. You see the position that I had applied for didn't use Dictaphone!

Now I decided that I was NEVER going to do poorly at Dictaphone again. I learned about the machines and with practice soon became a master at using them.

You see, you can run from failure and try to avoid things that you think you might not do well or you can take control and learn what you need to in order to become a master. The choice is yours.

Think about something that you have done poorly in the past and then make a commitment that you will improve in that area. Soon you will be so proud of yourself and viewed by others as an expert.