Why People Fail: The 16 obstacles to success and how you can overcome them. By Siimon Reynolds
We seek
success. But it’s often through failure that we can learn best.
“After all,
success is often just a moment – a goal fulfilled, soon to be replaced with new
goals. But failure is the ambitious person’s constant companion, often dogging
us for months, years, or even decades before we finally reach our aim,” –
Siimon Reynolds
Who is Siimon
Reynolds?
Reynolds
became one of Australia's youngest self-made millionaires and an agency
director at the tender age of 21. After his acrimonious fallout with former
Omon agency partner Mark de Teliga over shares. "Sacked at 21" over
the phone and "without reason" from Grey Advertising. He went on to
found The Photon Group, a group of marketing companies. He's now chairman and
co-founder of OMG, one of Australia's largest online networks, and a business
consultant, author and public speaker.
“We need to
understand and conquer failure if we are ever to master success.”- Siimon
Reynolds
The sixteen
mistakes
Reynolds
solutions to manage these mistakes range from new-age to the downright
practical and
reasonable.
Take a look at them with an open mind and get behind the essence of what the
intent of the practice is. The 16 mistakes are:
1. Unclear
purpose
2.
Destructive thinking
3. Low
productivity
4. Fixed
mindset
5. Weak
energy
6. Not asking
the right questions
7. Poor
presentation skills
8. Mistaking IQ for EQ
9. Poor
self-image
10. Not
enough thinking
11. No daily
rituals
12. Stress
13. Few
relationships
14. Lack of
persistence
15. Money
obsession
16. Not
focusing on strengths
1. Unclear
purpose
Having a
clear purpose in life and work underpins satisfaction, happiness and success.
Yet there are still many who are unclear about their life’s purpose. Reynolds
pushes the point by claiming that average person is average because they have
no clear purpose. : The average person has no clear purpose, and that’s why Mr.
Reynolds figures they end up being average. To succeed, you need to be clear
about your life purpose, job purpose, and weekly purpose, without purpose, you
are more at risk of becoming the outcome of somebody else’s purpose. A strong
purpose is our fuel and source of inspiration.
2.
Destructive thinking
How we think
determines how we feel and act. Reynolds’s discussed the impact of thought, the
impact on how
well you perform and how happy you are. Mastering thoughts is something many
people only
vaguely think possible and fewer still, work on this. However it is not easy,
daily focus is one of the essential inputs. If you constantly seize upon the
negative and suffocate your new ideas and those of people around you, then you
won’t get very far. You’ll probably damage your health and give in too easily
when confronted by challenges
3. Low
productivity
How we choose to use the same 168 hours in the week
varies enormously. People who fail usually don't take enough action. The heart
of intelligent action is to try something, evaluate how it went, adjust your
strategy, and then try again.
Productivity
is simple: 1. Get clear about what you want; 2. Take action; 3. Change your
approach if it isn't working, and stick with it if it is. Add the techniques of
doing the most important action first and working in uninterrupted blocks of
time. : Too many people are disorganized, without the discipline to plan and
create blocks of time to accomplish the tasks before them, and also unaware of
the benefits of focusing on the few activities that generate the greatest
impact
4. Fixed
mindset
There are two
mindsets you can have: fixed mindset and growth mindset. When you have a fixed
mindset you
are fearful of venturing into new areas and greatly concerned about what other
people think of you. This attitude tends to inhibit your activities, making you
play safe and not stretch your boundaries. Because we live in an
ever-progressing world, that mindset slowly causes you to be left behind in
both your 'career and your personal evolution. : Studies by American
psychologist Carol Dweck have shown advantages flow to those who don’t feel their
qualities and abilities are set in stone, but instead believe they can stretch
their capabilities through dedicated and consistent effort.
5. Weak
energy
We often
forget that the human body is a machine. Like any machine it needs to be
maintained well and powered by a quality energy source. If you're neglecting
your energy levels, then eventually you will fail, or at the very least perform
at a mediocre level. You need lots of energy to work long hours, think clearly,
and remain positive. That means keeping your energy powerful with a variety of
aids – sleep, diet, exercise, sunlight, music, and positive self-talk.
6. Not asking
the right questions
Powerful
questions are wonderful things. The questions that Reynolds poses are good ones
for us all to reflect on. I. What are my values? II. What would I do if I knew
I couldn’t fail? III. What could go wrong? IV. How could I make 10 times more
money? V. What would X do? VI. Should I even be
involved with this? VII. How would my competition defeat me? VIII. What is the
best use of my time right now? IX. When I die, what kind of life would I like
to have lived? X. How could I improve that performance?
7. Poor
presentation skills
Great
presenters get ahead because their smooth presentations make them look smarter
than they may actually are. “The packaging becomes the reality,”
8. Mistaking
IQ for EQ
If you think
high IQ is the sole determinant of success, you’re misguided.
Emotional
intelligence is twice as likely as IQ to indicate success later in life.Emotional
Intelligence (EQ) has only been recently acknowledged as an important
contributor to our ability to more effectively manage relationships and our
thinking processes.
Two good
points to note in increasing your emotional intelligence: Firstly, understand
your score and the key areas where you are strong. Secondly, being aware of
your weaker points and working on them will improve your overall EQ.
9. Poor
self-image
You need a
healthy self-image because it determines which actions you will take and how
you will feel every day .Part of mental toughness is working on a realistic and
positive self-image. Not easy for some, however the will to shift can become
part of one’s daily routine.
10. Not
enough thinking
An obsession
with doing, doing, doing will ultimately do you in. Instead, you must think,
think, and think ideas, Mr. Reynolds says, ideas are golden, but as a society
we are suffering from a shortage of thinking time.
11. No daily
rituals
Rituals for
sports people are common, expected and practiced. Rituals for executives are
rare and ignored. Bringing rituals into the corporate world. Build time into
your day for important habits, such as reading about your industry, fitness,
improving your social life, and visualizing your goals. Try his happiness
ritual as well: Take time to list all the good things in your life.
The trick is
to have the right ritual for the particular problem or issue and not to try to
solve everything at once.
12. Stress
Stress kills
your dreams, your happiness, your performance, and shortens your lifespan. Try
some stress relievers, from deep breathing to getting into the sunshine. Write
lists of what you need to do and what your values are, because those flush some
of the uncertainty (and some of the stress) out of your life.
13. Few
relationships
We can't
achieve success at any significant level without the assistance of others.
Highly successful people always develop a crack team of advisers to help them
reach their goals. The fact is, you are only as good as the team around you.
You need help to get where you want to be. Build friendships, including an
inner circle of about 10 professional and personal contacts who can give you
needed support.
14. Lack of
persistence
Persistence
is one of the common elements in the great majority of successful people.
Talent and persistence make a powerful relationship. One of the most crucial
reasons people fail is that they give up too soon
15. Money
obsession
So many of us
are obsessed with getting more, more, more, rather than enjoying what we've
already got. Building your life around the accumulation of money will lead to
misery rather than happiness. Build your life around relationships, community,
and serving others. Reynolds is right when he points out that materialism is at
epidemic levels and still rising fast in many countries
16. Not
focusing on strengths
Spend your
day exercising your strengths rather than worrying about shoring up your
weaknesses.A nice reminder to spend as much time as we can on those factors, which
add value given our particular set of capabilities.
There are a lot to take in, and the book is jammed with
practical tips for dealing with each of the barriers to success
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