FAILURES & LOSSES AS FUEL FOR SUCCESS

This was not a good weekend for Cincinnati sports. Two of Kingsgate’s sponsored teams, the Xavier Musketeers, and the Cincinnati Bearcats had some major games, that didn’t go as we had hoped. On Saturday, the Musketeers faced the Villanova Wildcats and had a chance to take the number one spot in the Big East AND improve their national ranking…but they lost. The on Sunday, the Bearcats took on the Wichita Shockers and had a chance to improve their national ranking and move ahead of Xavier… but they lost too. “Welcome to being a Cincinnati sports fan” was a sentiment it felt like the entire city shared. This weekend reminded me of one of my blog’s from last year – Winning in Sport and in Business. Just as winning in sports has parallels to winning in business, the same can be said about losses in the two areas.

Losses and failures are time to take a step back and look at what went wrong? What should have been changed? How can we improve for next time? As longtime UCLA coach John Wooden said, “losing is only temporary and not all-encompassing. You must simply study it, learn from it, and try hard not to lose the same way again. Then you must have the self-control to forget about it.”

The latter is the hardest part of a failure. “Having the self-control to forget about it,” move on and improve. The successful see failure as a tool for success, as a learning opportunity. It’s crucial to take the time to reflect on your shortcomings and create a revised plan for success, and not to dwell on your failures but use it as fuel to push yourself to try again.

All great business owners, athletes, authors, artists, musicians, entrepreneurs and etc. know the road to success is a long one; full of setbacks and struggles. Failure is part of the journey and as coach Vince Lombardi said, “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get back up.” The greatest successes are always the ones you fought the hardest to achieve.

So, to the XU Musketeers and UC Bearcats, review this weekend’s games, find a strategy for improvement and get ready… March Madness is just around the corner.

All the Best,
Jeff Beckham