The ultimate failure

Failure scares people. That’s the reason many people decide to not even try, so they don’t get defeated, particularly in the present society we live.

After all, we live in the society of the SUPERSUCCESSFUL!

Yes, everyone shows their success, their attainments and achievements. Many years ago, there was a video that went viral about life according to Facebook, showing a man who was passing through troubled times and decided to cheat a little bit, only showing the best parts of his (pretended) life. My best scene is when he takes a selfie after running many kilometers, which was false as he took the car to go there… All went crumbling down after his wife cheated on him and he started to share his real mental state, and he lost all his friends…

That means failure is dangerous, it means I will be left alone, because nobody likes a loser! Let’s dive deeply into failure:

• First, there is real failure, that is, a failure that can’t be hidden away, because you did lose your job or you were not able to get that in which you invested so much money to work. a beautiful feature of us humans is that we can keep trying and trying again, just like that song from Shakira, Try Everything.
• Second, there is failure, but after a while, turns into success! My case is probably exceptional; I was always a good student at high school, but my last year there was a year of doubts and an inner struggle of sort, so I lost my position. A colleague, by the end of that year, came to me bragging as he was able to secure a good number, MY NUMBER, so, he was better than me. It was military school and the tradition was that we would close our presence in high school by going to a military camp, EXCEPT those who got into the first 10 positions. In other words, I was going and my colleague would not go. My failure however changed, because the rules changed; although I couldn’t get a position according to the old rules, under the new rules, I did get a number amidst the 10 first numbers! And I was so happy!!! Many times in life, waiting turns failure into success, just wait.
• Then, there is the possibility to look at failure with a different attitude. For instance, it was not failure, it was learning… Failure is often a powerful motivator for improvement and there are certain very valuable values, like humility, that can be assimilated in an easy way by failing.

In other words, embrace failure and change it into something that will take you into success.

What is the meaning of reputation at times of social media?

There was a time that people used to be concerned about their reputation in certain occasions such as a job interview, choosing someone to get married or investments.

Reputation is a powerful indicator, which is subjective, but it creates a reference for a boss to hire you, for you to plan your wedding with a certain person and a family investment for the future of their children.

However, something happened in human History, a breakthrough of major proportions in terms of how we live in a society: the social network.

So, let’s suppose you are trying to get a job; one of the things your boss may do is check your posts and have a general idea of who you are. Even though they are unrelated to your actual work, it will be those posts – your little dog, your mother falling from a chair, a dance, etc. – that could define if you will get it or not. When your boss meets you for the interview, he has already an image of who you are. Your reputation.

Same can apply for marrying or investments, reputation is being created by thousands of tiny posts, many of which were not made with that intention.

Reputation then changes its form and shape. People trust each other not because they know each other, but they have explored what the other person has posted and they believe that is their reality.

Beforehand reputation was subjective, but now…

A probable warning to anyone is to be careful on what they post, it could become a (bad) brick on the creation of your reputation…

Another way is to be more aware that the social network has become your portrait, so be consistent while posting, show the best of yourself, celebrate life and enjoy this marvelous tool we humans have created.

Remember: you are being watched. Smile!

The door of death

A young minister started to attend to his exotic king, who used to quote wisdom phrases and do his best to rule the kingdom in a… funny way.

One of the things the king used to do was related to the execution of prisoners, an event that the young man had to regretfully y attend. It was always the same…

“You have been condemned for your atrocious acts against the kingdom.”, the king used to start. After some deliberation, he would finish his interference with this:

“Now, if you are brave, REALLY brave… My kingdom needs VERY COURAGEOUS people and I am willing to pardon you…”, the king would wait for the prisoner’s smile and close his speech like this, by approaching a simple door at a corner: “… if you cross this door. This door takes a person to the most horrible place of my kingdom, a place not even the best men of my army would dare to go! This door keeps us safe from a monster nobody has been able to defeat.”, this time the king would wait for the smile to vanish. “Now, my men will free you and if you want you can cross that door, or you will be executed.”

ALL OF THE PRISONERS would rather die than crossing the door.

One day, he found the king in a good mood and he decided was safe to ask the king the big question

“Your Majesty, I would like to ask you a question that has been haunting me since I have become your servant.”

“Of course, you may ask the question.”

After a brief hesitation, fearing for his own life, the young man asked: “What is behind the door?”

The king showed an enigmatic smile and start to walk very fast, followed by the young minister who realized soon where they were heading to: the execution field.

Now, the young man was almost crying with the fear the king would throw him out through the cursed door, but he was able to kept a certain calm face; they at last were both facing the door themselves.

“Open it!”, ordered the king. The young minister rather clumsily opened the door and…

…And he was amazed! It was an extremely beautiful piece of jungle there. He was able to identify some flowers and trees, and no sign of the monster.

When he looked back to the king, he was definitely smiling.

“Where is the monster, your Majesty?”

The king whispered something under his breath, looked at the eager eyes of his new minister and said without a smile: “The most horrible monster of all does not live in that jungle, but in the hearts and minds of people. It is called FEAR… If the prisoners didn’t keep that monster inside themselves, they would dare crossing the door and, as I promised, they will be free again. But that monster kills them before our executioners. Be careful, minister, and don’t feed your own monster! Just trust yourself and the fear will eventually die.”

A life-long learning process

To have a dynamic life, full of energy and meaning, it is important to understand that this is the greatest university!

Every day, every moment, at every interaction or chance to contemplate, you and I are learning. There is no ending for that.

So, I would like to suggest you two things.

First, always be OPEN TO LEARN. This requires humility and self-esteem, kindness and courage, and most importantly, the deep desire to progress.

Second, always be OPEN TO SHARE. You will need to feel the pulse of the person with whom you are sharing, teaching, coaching or mentoring. You will have to go beyond knowledge and trust your own wisdom. And share with generosity, openness, mercy and love.

We are sharing the same classroom, let’s make the best of it.