26A – Celebrating Failure

I've always tried things many people wouldn't. Sometimes these attempts would result in success but many times they would result in failure. Shortly after high school I bought my first rental property. I used all my savings to get into the deal. Not having reserves led me to rent to people that I shouldn't have and eventually I had to sell at a significant loss. I've owned multiple businesses and again, some did well and others not so much. Ambitious for sales, I hired sales people that I shouldn't have and often paid more than I should have. I took deals that I shouldn't have. I've taken risks on investments that resulted in loss. My failures are too numerous to list, I've made and lost hundreds of thousands of dollars, relationships, and academic opportunities. As far as this semester, I haven't experienced many failures-I've been lucky. I haven't done as well this semester as I have throughout my education but I think that is true for a lot of us.

I've learned a lot from from both my successes and failures. I've learned what I should do but more importantly I've learned what I shouldn't. I've learned that persistence is necessary to succeed in business and in life. I've learned that relationships can be valuable but that bad relationships or relationships with the wrong people can hurt more than they help. I've learned that how much you make matters less than how much you spend. Risk of loss should not be taken likely-it should be weighed as an expenditure. I've learned that bad deals should never become deals at all-not only do you risk losing the money, you also risk your ability to process good deals. I've learned that the harder you work, the luckier you seem to be.

Failure is hard. It can be hard to endure and hard to cope with. It can be embarrassing. It can be humbling. I agree with Dr. Pryor that "it means that we have to change something about ourselves". Emotionally I try to remind myself that bumps in the road are par for the course. Nothing worth having comes easily and no success can be lasting and meaningful without adversity. Behaviorally, I try to react positively and take from my experiences what I can. This is not always easy. Sometimes in the moment I get angry or upset like a child that didn't get his way. Fortunately, my perception allows me to reflect objectively once these feelings subside. I am also fortunate to be ambitious and persistent-in the past when I've succumbed to negativity and given up, it isn't long before I grow dissatisfied with mediocrity and try again. When this happens I go into a new venture with the knowledge and experiences from my past. This class has provided insight and context for me to measure my experiences against. I am no more likely to take risks but taking risks has never been something I shy away from. I hope to benefit from polish and knowledge and look to classes like this one to help me determine which risks are worthwhile.