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#51 June 1, 2016
Dear Readers
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FAIL 10 Famous Failures That Will Inspire You to Be a Success Bouncing from Failure Failure Recipe’
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Failure – Quotes Advt
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When was the last time you failed? I am a pro at it! Little and big failures are part of life. If we don’t fail enough, we are perhaps not trying enough. FAILure is the First Act In Learning. When you started to walk, you fell down. Did you give up? You tried again and again till you could balance well. Take this to any act of learning, say driving your car. The first few days were tough and embarrassing. And now we drive through instincts. We are not the only ones who fail. The best of the world and the rest of the world fails. Always, at something or the other. How do you take failures coming your way? Time to introspect. ALWAYS COMMIT A NEW FAILURE. whY not! Cheers, Rajiv Khurana Editor rajiv@rajivkhurana.com 9810211256 Advt. Pages 13
Coaching Learning Advancing Sharpening Smartening ©
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#51 June 1, 2016
10 Famous Failures That Will Inspire You to Be a Success ELIZABETH ANDAL, http://www.lifehack.org
Window for action loving PROFESSIONALS
1. J.K. Rowling During a Harvard commencement speech, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling outlined the importance and value of failure. Why? Simply because she was once a failure too. A few short years after her graduation from college, her worst nightmares were realized. In her words, “I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless. The fears that my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew.” Coming out of this failure stronger and more determined was the key to her success.
2. Steve Jobs
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The now revolutionary Apple started off with two men in a garage. Years later we all know it as a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. Yet, almost unbelievably, Steve Jobs was fired from the very company he began. The dismissal made him realize that his passion for his work exceeded the disappointment of failure. Further ventures such as NeXT and Pixar eventually led Jobs back to the CEO position at Apple. “I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me,” Jobs said in 2005. Lost your job today? Keep kicking and you could be just like this guy!
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#51 June 1, 2016
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3. Bill Gates Bill Gates was a Harvard dropout. He co-owned a business called Traf-O-Data, which was a true failure. However, skill and a passion for computer programming turned this failure into the pioneer of famous software company Microsoft ,and the then 31-year-old into the world’s youngest selfmade billionaire. In his own words: “It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” This isn’t to say that dropping out of Harvard will make you into a billionaire, but maybe that shiny degree isn’t worth as much as the drive and passion to succeed.
4. Albert Einstein
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The word ‘Einstein’ is associated with intelligence and synonymous with genius. Yet it is a famous fact that the pioneer of the theory of general relativity, Albert Einstein himself, could not speak fluently until the age of nine. His rebellious nature led to expulsion from school, and he was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School. His earlier setbacks did not stop him from winning the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921. After all, he believed that “success is failure in progress.” To this day, his research has influenced various aspects of life including culture, religion, art, and even late night TV. Just because you haven’t achieved anything great yet, doesn’t mean you can’t be an Einstein yourself.
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#51 June 1, 2016
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5. Abraham Lincoln Failing in business in 1831, suffering a nervous breakdown in 1836, defeated in his run for president in 1856, Abraham Lincoln was no stranger to rejection and failure. Rather than taking these signs as a motivation for surrender, he refused to stop trying his best. In this great man’s words: “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.” Lincoln was elected in 1861 as the 16th President of the United States of America. The amount of rejection you receive is not a defining factor. Success is still within your reach.
6. Michael Jordan “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” This quote by retired basketball legend Michael Jordan in a Nike advertisement speaks for itself. It would be an easy misconception that Jordan’s basketball skills revolve around natural talent. In fact, in his earlier years, basketball coaches had trouble looking past the fact that Jordan didn’t reach the minimum height. It was years of effort, practice, and failure that made the star we know today.
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#51 June 1, 2016
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7. Steven Spielberg Regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers of all time, Steven Spielberg is a familiar household name. It is surprising to realize therefore that the genius behind Jaws and E.T. had poor grades in high school, getting him rejected from the University of Southern California three times. While he was in college, he caught the eye of executives at Universal, who signed him as a television director in 1969. This meant that he would not finish his college degree for another 33 years. Perseverance and acceptance of failure is the key to success, after all. “Even though I get older, what I do never gets old, and that’s what I think keeps me hungry.” Bad grades in high school aside, there is no questioning the genius involved. To date, Spielberg has directed 51 films and has been awarded three Oscars.
8. Walt Disney Mickey Mouse creator Walt Disney dropped out of school at a young age in a failed attempt at joining the army. One of his earlier ventures, Laugh-o-Gram Studios, went bankrupt due to his lack of ability to run a successful business. He was once fired from a Missouri newspaper for “not being creative enough.” Yet today, The genius behind Disney studios is responsible for generations of childhood memories and dreams. From Snow White to Frozen, Disney will continue to entertain the world for generations to come. The logic behind this is simple: “… we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
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#51 June 1, 2016
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9. Vincent Van Gogh During his lifetime Vincent Van Gogh suffered mental illness, failed relationships, and committed suicide at the age of 37. He only ever sold one painting in his life, pinning him a failure as an artist. However that did not put a damper on his enthusiasm and passion for art. He would never know that years and years after his death he would become known as a key figure in the world of post-impressionism, and ultimately, one of the greatest artist that ever lived. He would never know that he became a hot topic in art classes and his image was going to be used in TV, books and other forms of popular culture. In the words of this great, but tragic man, “If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.”
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10. Stephen King As a paranoid, troubled child, tormented by nightmares and raised in poverty, it is no surprise that Stephen King grew up to the title: “Master of Horror”. An addiction to drugs and alcohol were his mechanisms to cope with the unhappiness he felt with his life. The frustration he felt towards multiple rejections by publishers in combination with illicit substances caused him to mentally contemplate violence towards his own children. These intense emotions were those that he focused onto his writing. This became his new coping mechanism, and this is how the master author we know today grew to success.
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Bouncing Back from‌
#51 June 1, 2016
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Find reasons There is always a cause and effects relationship. Be dispassionate in finding out. No harm in being a bit self critical.
Ask for feedback Only the seeker finds. Get the data. Take the advise. A lot many people around you will provide their perspective. Benefit from it.
Identify improvement areas
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A lot may come your way. You won’t reach anywhere by following all advice. Focus. Identify the criticality and get ready to prepare your actions.
Look beyond Set backs are temporary. Start dreaming success. Assess and take risks. Skip gambles. Keep building on minor successes too.
Usher SMART moves Clarity on goals will make your path clearer. Big goals are needed. Break them down in milestones too.
Review regularly The better you demand of yourself, the finer you may achieve. Conduct the helicopter view. Adjust the sail. Redefine. Transform.
Exceed expectations. Enjoy.
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Always beat your own records. Start with the arithmetic progression. Aim for the geometric progression. Enjoy all the way. Celebrate more.
Mnemonic FAILURE is the intellectual property of Rajiv Khurana
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#51 June 1, 2016
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FAILURE Recipe’ Rajiv Khurana
It was the two brothers and the British clergymen J.C. Hare and A.W. Hare who said in 1827, “Half the failures in life arise from pulling in one’s horse as he is leaping.” The Hare brothers certainly had a good Horse sense. Failure is nothing new. It strikes us all. But some of us are quite motivated enough to make it a way of life. Perhaps, the poor Indian hockey team has inspired us a lot. They are very good at taking the chances and converting victories into defeat More than success it is the failure that attracts attention. No one is interested to know how you won. People are always keen to do paralysis by analysis for all the failures. Such analysis is more like peeling an onion. Take the layer off one by one and you get nothing but tears. No one of course wants to learn from failures of others. People are generally comfortable with experiencing failure themselves. Why go for a second hand experience when the first hand failure can come to you without doing anything?
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#51 June 1, 2016
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People in organizations fail for different reasons. The list of reasons is not exhaustive. You can however, use any of the following ways to put yourself on the fast pedestal of failure. If these reasons for failure fail, try some creativity. I dislike upgrading myself. Knowledge is added and expanded everyday. Internet has made my life miserable. From where do I get so much time to keep myself abreast with everyday developments? People have been using their old knowledge and skills for so long and nothing has happened to them. What do you think will happen to me if I remain a canvasser for OKNP - Old Knowledge New Pay? I love status quo. Taking higher responsibilities is very risky. The more you are responsible for, the more you will make mistakes. And the more mistakes you make you get exposed to the risks of KOTA - Kick on the A-- (wrong place). Less work, less errors and live life without terror is my motto.
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I delay/avoid decisions. All is pre-destined. No one can solve problems. The problems get resolved sooner or later. We just need to be patient. Decision-making is risky too. What if things go right? It will make my superiors give me more responsibility. This way my risks will keep multiplying. I can’t risk my comforts of inertia.
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#51 June 1, 2016
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I hate feedback. Someone said, “Feedback is the weapon of champions.” Who wants to be a champion? I just want to be me – DTMWTU - Don’t Trouble Me Won’t Trouble You. I practice live and let live. When I don’t expect people around me to change; why should I religiously note down all the feedback that comes my way and disturbs my peace by getting into a never-ending cycle of self-change. I hate to seek help. I am a strong person. I believe in my capabilities. I know what I need to do. What can others do for me? Nothing. I only expect ‘nothing’ from them. Beyond that would be an interference into my private sphere and I love my solitude.
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I love bad mouthing others. What is life without excitement? And how can we have excitement without creating or going through troubles? People love ‘masala’. The bland food is disliked by average Indians. How many people will hover around you to listen praises about others for hours and hours? Try that with criticism and people will spend their hours to add their ‘masala’ to it to make it more ‘chatpata’.
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#51 June 1, 2016
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I hate team work What’s new? We Indians are primarily the ‘lone rangers’. Be it sports or organization, we have mastered the art of running and managing a one-man team. I- ME- MYSELF is the ‘mantra’ I have inherited. I like it a lot. It gives me the strength to claim all achievements of people around me as my success stories. It’s of great help when I have to expect increments or appear for a job interview. Surprisingly, failure has its bright side also. Tom Cannon, the British Professor, Consultant and Author once said, “Failure plays a surprisingly prominent part in many business success stories. Henry Ford, it is said, only developed the Model T because the tractors he built were failures. Edison’s ‘ticker tape’ machine worked, but his failure to secure the patents ‘forced’ him to look for new areas for work–like developing electric lighting. It is surprisingly hard to find successful managers who got it right first time. The willingness to get up after getting knocked down and to learn from failure is perhaps the single most enduring feature of greatness in managers.”
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Failures can give protection. That’s what the US government did. They printed billions of dollars to put life into the dead businesses and allowed bonuses to the celebrity failed leaders.
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#51 June 1, 2016
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It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default. - J. K. Rowling
It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure. -Bill Gates I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying. -Michael Jordan Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. -Thomas A. Edison An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail. -Edwin Land
Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. One fails forward toward success. -C. S. Lewis Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be. -John Wooden 12
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#51 JuneC1,oaching 2016 Learning Advancing Sharpening Smartening
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Make Your SMART People SMARTER Periodic learning investments do wonders to people and business. Take your people to a new orbit of awareness and equip them with SMART skills they need. Start catapulting your business to the level next. Each programme shall be tailor-made to your organization’s specifications and nuances. You are different. Your programme should be different too. Call us for a dialogue. +91 9810211256 +91 9013698960 rajiv@rajivkhurana.com
S M A
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Sharpening Business Presentations Multimedia Usage in Training Accelerating Innovativeness Reaping High Performance through Coaching & Mentoring Team playing and Leading Enhancing Personal Effectiveness Rejuvenating Digital Presence & Personal Branding
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#51 June 1, 2016
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Family Business Mentoring Mentoring YES – Young Entrepreneurs for Success Career Mentoring
9810211256, 9013698960 rajiv@rajivkhurana.com http://in.linkedin.com/in/rajivkhurana
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Family business Rajiv Mentoring Khurana by
#51 June 1, 2016
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Family ventures in India serve as the backbone of the economy. Name any field of business or social initiative, and families in India would have played a pivotal role. Family businesses have their own unique style and culture which keep evolving over the time. Market opportunities have been expanding globally; technology has been helping in the need and speed of delivery and the social and family milieu has created new dimensions in control and decisionmaking power-centres, besides the newer generation aspiring for new avenues or seeking a higher and faster stake in the enterprise. Complexities have been rising and so has the commitment to succeed. Globally, businesses are seeking professional MENTORS for advice, strength and support. In India, highly aware families have followed suit. Some are gearing up, while a large number still live in the comfortable bliss of ignorance. You too can easily reach out to a MENTOR if you identify your family business with any of these illustrative needs: International Management Consultant & Trainer, Venture Mentor, Executive Coach, Social Entrepreneur, Well published writer‌
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#51 June 1, 2016
Family business Rajiv Mentoring Khurana by
Window for action loving PROFESSIONALS You want your business to move
into a new orbit of expansion and excellence You are bored with a nominal arithmetic progression of growth and wish to transform to a dynamic, geometric progression You are facing some immediate issues and need a fresh, independent perspective You need a fresh look at your vision, mission, values and goals You want your business to raise its standards and performance bar You desire a rational alignment of all family members and senior executives vis-à-vis your goals and overall direction. You desire to identify and/or strengthen your competitive edge You wish to strengthen the work culture and change the customer and people-outlook of your business You need a sounding board for your ideas You wish someone could challenge your assumptions and preparedness You need support to refine the Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes and Work Habits within the family and senior employees
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#51 June 1, 2016
Family business Rajiv Mentoring Khurana by
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You need help in the right induction of family youngsters You need support for the grooming and mentoring of family youngsters to refine their experience and skills as they get ready for responsible leadership roles You wish to create a smoother business succession plan for the next generation to take over You need help in conciliation, reduction or resolution of cross-generation friction You want to improve the leadership and managerial abilities of the family and the team You desire a good blending with your partners and all other stakeholders You need more time for yourself and desire to decentralize and move into an advisory role You dream to be known as an institution builder instead of remaining a business sustainer
Your choice could be any or many of the above. Professional MENTORING can help your business achieve your aspirations. Let’s talk it out. Fix an appointment for a no-commitment dialogue with RAJIV KHURANA at our office. 9810211256, 9013698960 rajiv@rajivkhurana.com http://in.linkedin.com/in/rajivkhurana
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MENTORING #51 June 1, 2016
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Young Entrepreneurs for Success For Young Entrepreneurs: New in business Starting a new business Settling into their family business Wanting to do better in business International Management Consultant & Trainer, Venture Mentor, Executive Coach, Social Entrepreneur, Well published writer…
YES
Imagine Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli without a Coach or a Mentor! Parents, friends and well meaning relatives could not have put them on the right path for pursuing greatness. We all need a coach, a mentor, a guide, a facilitator, a reflector, a listener, a professional friend or an advisor. The earlier the better! Make sure that the person is competent and accomplished to help you succeed in personal and professional situations. Your well mentored moves can ease your pursuits through cumbersome challenges of clarity and the complex maze of competence, commitment and creative results. Get set to • Cultivate your skills for a stronger personality and leadership in your entrepreneurial journey. • Strengthen your functional and process proficiency. • Dream Bigger. Achieve Higher. Mentoring by Rajiv Khurana is customized to your personal needs and time flexibility. Fix your appointment for a 30 minute nocommitment dialogue at our office. 9810211256, 9013698960 rajiv@rajivkhurana.com http://in.linkedin.com/in/rajivkhurana
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CAREER MENTORING by
Rajiv Khurana
#51 June 1, 2016
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International Management Consultant & Trainer, Venture Mentor, Executive Coach, Social Entrepreneur, Well published writer…
Why Career mentoring? C
Confusion: Choices, Entry to Exit, Options, Mid-career blues, Personal branding, Digital presence…
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Acquisition: From employability to advancement Knowledge, Skills, Attitude, Habits, Behaviour, Certifications, Courses…
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Route-map: Goal clarity, Milestones, Personalaction dashboard…
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Engagement: Role clarity, Balancing and aligning with organisational needs, Strengthening Team and Leadership roles, Pacing the performance relays…
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Excitement: Enhancing intrinsic motivation, Energising challenges, Experimenting with multiple avenues…
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Relationships: Intra and Inter-teams Seniors, Networking, Work-life balancing… ©Rajiv Khurana
We choose our career. Our career makes us. Our journey through different checkpoints is full of Compulsions Ambiguity and Re-prioritizing, yet Enthusiasm Enlightenment and Rejuvenation. How are you sailing through? How often do you feel the need for a coach, a mentor, a guide, a facilitator, a reflector, a listener, a professional friend or an advisor? Considering the appointment of your MENTOR to be the job of your boss or the company alone is letting them take charge of your career. You have the highest stake in your career. You decide. Help for short-term clarity to long-term course correction is just a meeting away. Send an email answering, ”Why do I need a MENTOR?”, and we may invite you for a 30 minute, no-commitment dialogue at our office. 9810211256, 9013698960 rajiv@rajivkhurana.com http://in.linkedin.com/in/rajivkhurana