It seems that every successful business out there had to deal with failure.
I like to say failure equals success. Sitting at Firestone today,
waiting for them to remove the nail that somehow managed to make it in
our front ride tire, I stumbled upon the August 2012 issue of INC Magazine.
The magazine’s cover story is about 14 entrepreneurs who discuss their
successes, their failures, and the lessons they learned along the way.
Two were fired from the companies they formed. Another worked 20 years
for his overnight success. Another silenced her critics with a $120
million payday. All of these company founders had one thing in common,
the emotional roller coaster that is entrepreneurship. All had failures
along the way to success.
Drum
Cafe, is a corporate motivation and training organization that seeks to
“building teams, uniting companies and motivating staff” through, I am
not kidding you but it seems to work in Silicon Valley, interactive
rhythmic drumming writes in their blog:
Every
mistake is an opportunity to learn. What separates the forever
failures from a rising phoenix success story is quite simply our
willingness to observe a mistake and learn from it. Complete self
honesty is absolutely imperative to this process. We also have to be
willing to have a positive mind story. Here too the aspect of honesty
is the truth that will set us free. If we are tapping into some sob
story from our past that we have painted negatively, we cannot move
forward. However, we can take that same story and ask ourselves “what
did I learn from that experience?” There is ALWAYS
something to learn. For example, if you walk down the street, paying
no attention to the pavement below, you might trip over something. You
can either decide to never walk in that area again, potentially missing
something spectacular, or you can recognize you tripped because you were
not paying attention. You learn to pay attention and walk down that
same stretch of pavement and because of actually looking down you find a
$100 bill!
Now
that’s a simplified example, but I think you catch the point. In case
you need a little more food for thought on the matter of failure being a
stepping stone towards success, here are few noted success after
failure stories:
R. H. Macy:
We are all familiar with this large department store chain, but Macy
didn’t always have it easy. Macy started seven failed business before
finally hitting big with his store in New York City.
Harland David Sanders:
Also known as Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken. The Colonel
had his famous secret chicken recipe rejected 1,009 times before a
restaurant accepted it.
Albert Einstein:
Most of us think of Einstein as a genius, but did you know he did not
speak until he was four and did not read until he was seven, causing his
teachers and parents to think he was mentally handicapped, slow and
anti-social? Eventually, he was expelled from school and was refused
admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School. He proved everyone wrong
and in the end, won a Nobel Prize and changed the face of modern
physics.
Stephen King:
The first book by this author, the iconic thriller Carrie, received 30
rejections, finally causing King to give up and throw it in the trash.
His wife fished it out and encouraged him to resubmit it. King is now
one of the best-selling authors of all time.
Oprah Winfrey:
Oprah faced a hard road to get to where she is today, enduring a rough
and abusive childhood as well as numerous career setbacks including
being fired from her job as a television reporter because she was “unfit
for TV.”
Thomas Edison:
In his early years, teachers told Edison he was “too stupid to learn
anything.” He was fired from his first two jobs for not being productive
enough. Even as an inventor, Edison made 10,000 unsuccessful attempts
at inventing the lightbulb. Of course, all those unsuccessful attempts
finally resulted in the design that worked.
I
came home and opened my email account only to find this discussion
about the Home Depot founders from Dan Kennedy, selling his $97.00 “Turning Adversity to Opportunity” DVD:
For
example in 1978, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank were fired from their
executive jobs at Handy Dan Home Improvement Centers during a corporate
takeover. Instead of putting their tails between their legs, hiding out
and going into paralysis mode like many would, they made a plan to
create their vision--a chain of home improvement centers larger than any
of the competition.
They named it Home Depot.
Although
their grand opening was less than spectacular, I don't have to tell you
that it wasn't long before the company exploded with growth and in only
two decades became the
world's largest home-improvement retailer.
What
does this all mean? First I believe, and most of conversations with
fellow clients concur, the marketplace is not going to get any easier
any time soon. Secondly I’ve actually seen conflicting numbers as it
relates to exactly how many attempts Thomas Edison had at creating the
light bulb. But they were all in the thousands. So, seriously, the
next time you feel like quitting after failing, just think about the
9,999 failures he had. He never gave up and learned from each and every
mistake. In fact, just before finally reaching success, Thomas Edison
was interviewed by a young reporter who boldly asked Mr. Edison if he
felt like a failure and if he thought he should just give up by now.
Perplexed, Edison replied, “Young man, why would I feel like a failure?
And why would I ever give up? I now know definitively over 9,000 ways
that an electric light bulb will not work. Success is almost in my
grasp.”
We have talked a lot in the last few years about our TaxCoach income tax planning software. Enclosed
is a page about one of the most misunderstood tax deductions, the home
office. We have generated a sample report for a small business or S
Corporation owner who operates their business from their home. Take a
look.
Like
it? Make sense? Want more? Do you think you pay too much tax? Are you
confident you’re taking advantage of every legal break? Do you wish
your tax advisor did more than just file your tax return?
I’ve got bad news; I’ve got good news; and I’ve got more bad news.
The
bad news is, you’re right. You do pay too much tax. You’re probably not
taking advantage of every legal deduction. And most tax professionals
do little more than record history, putting the “right” numbers in the
“right” boxes on the “right” forms.
The good news is, you don’t have to feel that way. You just need a better plan. Planning is the key to beating the IRS, legally.
The
“more” bad news is that time is running out. Some of the most valuable
strategies have to be put in place by midnight on December 31.
Otherwise, like Cinderella’s carriage turning into a pumpkin, you lose
them forever!
Our
tax coaching service gives you a plain-English plan for minimizing your
tax. I can’t predict how much tax coaching might save you. But clients
just like you have used these strategies to save thousands, year after
year. You owe it to yourself to make sure you’re not missing any legal
deductions.
I will contact you soon to schedule a brief telephone appointment. If you have any questions, you can reach me at 217-241-4597.
We spent the last weekend at a family get together in New Buffalo, Michigan.
You cannot overlook the number of billboards, as you leave Illinois,
proclaiming the better business climate in Indiana. For example its
worker’s compensation rates are among the lowest in the nation. I don’t
have to remind you; Illinois has a tax mess. Coupled with political
corruption. Massive budget problems. The word is out in the business
community. In fact in May 2012 Chief Executive magazine named Illinois
the 48th best state to do business in. And may I add on a race to
bottom. Pathetic. By the way Indiana was named 5th.
As
a reminder we are open weekdays with a much earlier closing time that
is based more on work flow than the clock. We are still available to
meet with you evenings and weekends. The only thing we ask is that you
call us for an appointment.
Talk to you soon.
Donald C. Fuener EA
President
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