One of the most frequent objections that people pose in response to information about investment or entrepreneurship is the scars of past failures. Sometimes there is dreadful credit history, or a past rental property experience with a particularly bad tenant. In other cases, people have a fundamental belief that success is something that they do not deserve or cannot achieve. In these cases, people perceive that they have ‘strikes’ against their prospects for success.
However, the unique advantage of American enterprise is the fact that people can repeatedly start over after they have gone bust. In many of the most legendary success stories, great achievement was not realized until after multiple failures. In every case, the achievers had the persistence and resolve to continue working until they found a way to attain their goals and dreams.
It may be the case that you have had some credit problems in the past. Your investment portfolio may have suffered a tremendous collapse in value. Your career may not have gone the way that you envisioned during your youth. Regardless of what has or hasn’t transpired in your personal and professional life, there is always opportunity waiting to be captured.
In baseball, it may be true that three strikes mean you’re out. However, in business and life the only one who can finally declare failure is you. For the person who continually learns, continually recognizes opportunity, consistently takes action and perpetually improves, there is no limit to what they can accomplish. What matters is not how many strikes are against you, but how firmly you are resolved to succeed.
The Solomon Success Team
Flickr / Pierre-Olivier
