Don't let failing be the last thing you do
After failing comes success. After massive failure, comes massive success, if you let it…
My biggest lesson in failure came after working with Vector Marketing for a couple of years. Throughout my time with the company, I had always just been your average rep and manager. I would win some awards, but mostly I finished between 3rd-5th amongst my peers; nothing out of the ordinary, I just did the minimum to stay ahead, but never really lept forward in great bounds. That is, until the year which I will never forget. The first half of the year was going alright, but near the end of the summer and early fall, things took a monumental nose dive. Everything just seemed to fall apart, I was at the lowest point I had ever been in my life, both inside and outside of Vector.
Just as the metaphorical phoenix rose from the ashes, I was determined not to let this defeat be the end of me. It was during this massive failure that I found out what personal growth really meant. I never truly understood that term and what it meant to really grow as a person. My word was something that I thought I valued, but I didn't, my actions didn't reflect that. Integrity was something I thought I had, instead I lacked it in every way. Understanding how to create a desired culture with my team was just as foreign as a foreign language was to me. However, the audio files and books that I listened to and studied that fall opened my eyes and helped me grow in ways I never expected.
It was that massive failure that allowed me to see that in order to do well for others, you need to do well for yourself first. Once you take care of yourself, you can then, and only then take care of others. During that fall, I based my life around 3 things: culture, integrity and my word. I wouldn’t say anything unless I knew 100% I would back it up. I was able to make hard decisions, which were the right decisions for myself, and those around me. After a few weeks of living my life like this, the most amazing things started to happen. I started that fall campaign off in the last spot in the company, but quickly climbed the leaderboard and became the #1 District Manager. More importantly, I was able to help my dad realize his dream. After working 38 years in Canada he had never saved enough money to take his family back home. By turning things around that fall, I had made enough money to take him and our family back home to Nigeria, a trip that none of us will ever forget. As a reward to my team for their hard work, I took them to a hockey game, a game where I met my wife, with whom I’m now expecting our first child.
So what have I learned from failure? Failure is part of success, you cannot have one without the other. Without failing like I did, I never would have worked as hard as I did; I never would have been able to touch the lives that I did, I never would have taken my family to Nigeria; and most importantly I never would have met my wife. Failure is a temporary setback in the long and windy road to success, and ultimately your dreams.
The most important thing about failing, is to never let it be the last thing you do. —
My biggest lesson in failure came after working with Vector Marketing for a couple of years. Throughout my time with the company, I had always just been your average rep and manager. I would win some awards, but mostly I finished between 3rd-5th amongst my peers; nothing out of the ordinary, I just did the minimum to stay ahead, but never really lept forward in great bounds. That is, until the year which I will never forget. The first half of the year was going alright, but near the end of the summer and early fall, things took a monumental nose dive. Everything just seemed to fall apart, I was at the lowest point I had ever been in my life, both inside and outside of Vector.
Just as the metaphorical phoenix rose from the ashes, I was determined not to let this defeat be the end of me. It was during this massive failure that I found out what personal growth really meant. I never truly understood that term and what it meant to really grow as a person. My word was something that I thought I valued, but I didn't, my actions didn't reflect that. Integrity was something I thought I had, instead I lacked it in every way. Understanding how to create a desired culture with my team was just as foreign as a foreign language was to me. However, the audio files and books that I listened to and studied that fall opened my eyes and helped me grow in ways I never expected.
It was that massive failure that allowed me to see that in order to do well for others, you need to do well for yourself first. Once you take care of yourself, you can then, and only then take care of others. During that fall, I based my life around 3 things: culture, integrity and my word. I wouldn’t say anything unless I knew 100% I would back it up. I was able to make hard decisions, which were the right decisions for myself, and those around me. After a few weeks of living my life like this, the most amazing things started to happen. I started that fall campaign off in the last spot in the company, but quickly climbed the leaderboard and became the #1 District Manager. More importantly, I was able to help my dad realize his dream. After working 38 years in Canada he had never saved enough money to take his family back home. By turning things around that fall, I had made enough money to take him and our family back home to Nigeria, a trip that none of us will ever forget. As a reward to my team for their hard work, I took them to a hockey game, a game where I met my wife, with whom I’m now expecting our first child.
So what have I learned from failure? Failure is part of success, you cannot have one without the other. Without failing like I did, I never would have worked as hard as I did; I never would have been able to touch the lives that I did, I never would have taken my family to Nigeria; and most importantly I never would have met my wife. Failure is a temporary setback in the long and windy road to success, and ultimately your dreams.
The most important thing about failing, is to never let it be the last thing you do. —
Jordan Baptie
Sherri Dickie
Jacqueline Wright
Sarah Baker Andrus