The Mantra of the Failure
Posted on May 29th, 2007 in Uncategorized
“I’ll do it someday.”
I think I’ve finally been convinced that setting deadlines for goals is a good thing.
John Chow released an ebook yesterday (which comes with a 1 million times your money back guarantee) on making money online. Since it combines two of my favorite things, money and ebooks, of course I downloaded it. It’s a collection of articles from from his blog, where he teaches people to make money online.
The first article kicked me right in the butt.
It’s titled “Someday Never Comes”, and it explains the difference between those who achieve their goals and those who don’t.
In all of my years of stuffing my brain with personal development and self-help literature, I’ve read over and over again that in order for a goal to be a goal, it must have a deadline.
So I set a goal, and set a deadline… and don’t make it.
So I say “See that! Deadlines don’t work! They just set me up for failure! They make me feel bad about myself, they damage my precious self-esteem! I’ll just live in the moment, and work towards the things that I want as I can! Time is just an illusion anyway!” (and on and on… including the multiple exclamation points)
But here’s the thought from the article that got my attention:
“Don’t be afraid to fail. Know that failure is required in order to succeed.”
To be honest, the past few days have been a little rough. I’ve felt like I’ve been slogging through my days, barely getting the basics done of what needs to be done. I stopped doing my morning routines, barely got to my day job when I was supposed to, and have been a real jerk to the people I love… especially my wife.
And why would that be?
I believe it has to do with not moving forward in spite of how I feel. Not doing the things I need to do to accomplish the things I want to accomplish.
And why should I?
I don’t have any deadlines! It’s going to happen someday, so why work on it today if I don’t feel like it?
Thank you, John, for giving me the kick I needed today.
P.S. – For you bloggers out there, John has a neat program where if you publish a review of his blog, he’ll post a link back to your site. I realized while I was writing this post, it may just qualify. 
This post has 6 comments
May 29th, 2007
Lyman… I know exactly what you mean about constantly setting deadlines and not achieving them. One thing that finally worked for me was posting my todo list. Almost every monday I make the trek over to Wendy Piersall’s site and post my gotta do list. Since I’ve started doing that I’m meeting my deadlines.
May 29th, 2007
It’s interesting you should mention that, Dave. After publishing the post, I was thinking about the difference between the times when I’ve done the things that I didn’t want to, but did anyway, and the times when I just let them go. It looks like a lot of it boils down to accountability.
I’ve got a Google Calendar reminder set to hit up Wendy’s Monday Motivation post next week.
Thanks for the comment!
June 4th, 2007
I can relate. Last Friday I was dragging. It was because I was behind on my deadlines. And I was behind on my deadlines because I had more demands on my time last week. Sometimes I somehow think that I can just expand into more than one person and get it all done, but then I trip and realize, argh, I can’t get it all done!
So what did I do? I wrote a post on playing hooky, because that’s what I needed. I needed some rest from my own harsh slavedriving and I needed to lighten my mood. Playing hooky was just the thing I needed! It made me smile again.
We’re all human. It never is easy, but I think as we learn and pay attention some things do get *easier.* And Life Is Good. That is for sure. Even when it stinks, we’re all so lucky to have these opportunities.
Excellent blog! Best Regards!
June 4th, 2007
Thank you for this!! I’ve been thinking a lot about this while I’m training for a 10k, I did it specifically for this purpose…because actually before last week, I hated running and never worked out unless I was on a cruise (and since I’ve only been on 1 cruise…well, not such a good strategy). Anyhow, I have a deadline for the 10k and I’ll either be ready or I won’t but I’m going to finish that 10k walking, crawling, or jogging…just so I finish my goal. It’s a metaphor for my start up as well…for all of us, isn’t it.
My mentor told me not to write a book last week. He said most books stay on the shelf unread, what people WANT is to fulfill their goals and some accountability. I agree! I want to be that for other people, I want that for me too…
Thanks for the post.
Make a Wish, Make it Happen,
Kelly, Start Up Princess
June 5th, 2007
AgentSully – I’ve tried expanding into more than one person quite a few times. Unfortunately, it usually causes me to blow up!
And you’re right – we are lucky to have all of these opportunities, we just need to be intelligent about which ones we take on. Thanks for the compliments and the comment!
Kelly – It is a great metaphor… you’ve got my encouragement on the run (or walk, or crawl.) And thank you for for commenting and giving me some encouragement.
June 14th, 2007
John chow’s make money online review is re-opened with new set of rules.
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