The Top Ten Reasons Why People Fail According to Success Guru John C. Maxwell

In today’s economy it seems that everywhere I look I hear of another small business that is failing, or at least, struggling badly. I don’t want my online book store to be one of these statistics. In search of advice I picked up a book I had gathering dust on my shelf: “Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes Into Stepping Stones for Success” by John C. Maxwell. I was drawn to his chapter on the top ten reasons people fail.

In the beginning of the chapter he makes a startling and eye-opening claim: most of the trouble we face is the result of our negative actions. “It’s our own fault.”

Here is a brief summary of the top ten reasons he gives for why people (and businesses) fail.

People Can Fail Because of Poor People Skills
You have to be able to get along with people. If the people you work with (or work for) do not like you and respect you, they often will help you fail. However, if you get along with your boss or your co-workers or your clients, mistakes may not only be forgiven but also may promote your career if you demonstrate maturity and humility in how you handle the mistake. Maxwell stresses the importance of being genuine and authentic and not putting on a front. You also need to be a good listener and be willing to be flexible to meet other people’s needs and schedules.

People Can Fail Because of a Negative Attitude
If you allow your circumstances to dictate your attitude you are setting yourself up to fail. You often can’t change your circumstances, but you can change yourself. You need to learn how to make the best of your situation instead of constantly whining about it.

People Can Fail Because of a Bad Fit
You can always change your attitude, but sometimes you do need to change the situation. You may be in a job or position that is a mismatch for your talents, personality, interests, and values. Maxwell describes being stuck in a profession or organization that doesn’t suit you like “having to wear shoes that are two sizes too large or too small.” You may be an engineer, but you really want to pastor a church. Or perhaps you are working in an office when you really want to be at home running your own business. If it does seem a poor fit, you may need to seriously consider a change.

People Can Fail Because of a Lack of Focus
When you do not have your priorities right, you lack focus, and bad things can happen. It doesn’t matter how hard you are working, if you are headed in the wrong direction you will never reach your goal. Make sure you know what your focus is and where you want to go.

People Can Fail Because of a Weak Commitment
In order to succeed you have to be committed to your goal. Apathy never leads to success. You need to be objective where you look at your own past failures: did you fail because you didn’t give it everything you had? Were you only half-hearted in your committment? Did you simply stop trying and then blame circumstances when you failed? If you are committed, a failure can be a step forward toward your goal, irregardless of how you feel about failing.

People Can Fail Because of an Unwillingness to Change
This reason struck home with me, as I am someone who does not like change. Maxwell says that one of the greatest enemies of achievement, personal growth and success is inflexibility. As a used bookseller I admit I am often in love with the past and don’t always like where I see the future going, and that I know, can hold me back from making the necessary changes so that my business will not just survive, but flourish. He did make one comment which gave me some hope: “You don’t need to love change to be successful, but you need to be willing to accept it.” And then finally the clincher: “Learn flexibility or learn to like living with your failures.”

People Can Fail Because of an a Shortcut Mind-Set
How many of us prefer taking shortcuts as opposed to doing the hard work and perserving? Maxwell emphasizes in this area that you have to be willing to “pay your dues” if you want to succeed. We usually grossly underestimate how much time and effort is necessary in order to accomplish anything of real value. You need to have self-discipline and build in some sort of accountability to help keep you working toward your goals and not giving into moods or impluses. Maxwell had a great quote in this section from psychologist Joseph Mancusi: “Truly successful people have learned to do what does not come naturally. Real success lies in experiencing fear or aversion and acting in spite of it.”

People Can Fail by Relying on Talent Alone
I think this reason is pretty self-explanatory. Talent is never enough. You have to have a strong work ethic as well. Maxwell makes some interesting and thought-provoking comments on this subject. “The greater your talent, the more likely you are to lean heavily on it and skip the hard day-to-day work of improving. If you possess this negative tendency, put yourself on a growth plan so that you can make the most of your God-given talent.”

People Can Fail Because of Poor Information
You can have conquered all of the previous stumbling blocks to success and still fail because of relying on poor information. Successful executives all have in common the ability to gather reliable information and make appropriate decisions based on that information. As the pace of life and business continues to speed up it will become harder and harder not only to collect information, but also to be able to figure out what of it is reliable and can be trusted. In today’s online and interactive electronic world I think this is very true. Unfortunately Maxwell didn’t give any real tips about how to be more successful in this area other than warning that this can be a potential pitfall.

People Can Fail Because They Have No Goals
Maxwell compares goals to dreams: what is it that you desire? Have you spent time thinking about what you want from this life? Without a goal, you are doomed to fail because you don’t have anything to shoot for. His quote for this section is quite profound: “Ours is a world where people don’t know what they want and are willing to go through hell to get it.” (Quote by Don Marquis). Find your dream, then start working on how you can achieve it.

Blessings!

Source
Maxwell, John C. Failing Foward: Turning Mistakes Into Stepping Stones for Success


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