My Greatest Leadership Fail
Leadership can be a challenge!
Sometimes you make the right decision and sometimes you don’t You win when you make more right than wrong! :-)
That’s common sense, sure but when you’re in the moment, making the right one is not always clear. And when you don’t have the benefit of wisdom, it may not be clear either.
Sometimes you have clear eyes and a full heart and still make the wrong decision. That is just the way it is.
In this post I want to tell you a quick story about when I made a VERY big mistake. One that I still think about today. And this was 25 years ago. I don’t dwell on it per se but I do think about it often and wish I could have a do-over!
In addition, I use this mistake as a motivator. I try not to live in the past… although it is a struggle at times. I even know that living in the past is not healthy. As a result, I try to focus on how this can help me in the present and future when stepping up as a leader.
I always remember this quote by Denis Waitley…
“Losers Live In The Past. Winners Learn From The Past and Enjoy Working in the Present Toward The Future.”
Here’s What Happened…
So here’s what happened….
I was playing in the semi-final of the state tournament for soccer. My high school, and the team we were playing, were considered the two powerhouse teams in the tournament. Our game was considered the state championship game and the winner was expected to roll over the team from South Jersey.
The game ended in a tie, as result we played two overtime periods and that ended in a tie. So we took penalty kicks to decide the winner of the game. I was the first up to take the kick. I’ve made thousands of these kicks in the past, but for some reason I was off target and missed wide right.
But that is not the issue that pains me. What’s interesting is that players from both sides missed a lot. As a matter of fact after each team took their 10 penalty kicks both teams only made 3 each. So once again we were tied.
Here’s the part where I made the mistake and I’ll never make that mistake again.
Since we completed the first round of 10 players to take the penalty kick it was time for volunteers to step up and take it. They needed 5 kickers from each team.
I did not step up! :-(
I had the opportunity to be a leader and take another shot but I failed to do so. That decision is what has haunted me for years, until I finally told myself…
“what’s done is done, I cannot change the past. All I can do is use it to motivate me to make better decisions for the future.”
How I Used This Leadership Fail To Design a Better Life
Needless to say, this leadership failure is something I never want to do again. I will never not step up again and this philosophy has driven me for many years.
This philosophy has translated into achievement within my network marketing business. I feel I let my team down in High School and I never want to have that feeling again. That is why I focus on support, training and my teams goals.
I learned long ago that my success is achieved when my team achieves their goals.
This requires that I know their “why” because each of us has a different definition of success. By knowing this information, I can help them achieve success in their business.
This is what my mentor did for me and that coupled with Attraction marketing allowed me to finally achieve results in my 3rd network marketing business.
What It Boils Down To…
In the end my success is achieved by helping others achieve their goals, it’s a win/win proposition. If my downline achieves their goals, then that means I achieve mine. A true symbiotic relationship.
… and that is one of the reason I got into Network Marketing. Of course the money is a motivator as well. :-)
I hope you liked this post, and if you did, I would appreciate a comment. Remember I have commentLUV installed on this blog so your latest post will be listed here with a link back to your blog. Don’t forget to share with your friends as well?
To your success,
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