Leadership in Action - CA English - 201908

The OnlyWay to Success is Through Failure

A MESSAGE FROM CEO FRANK VANDERSLOOT

I recently heard a story and some insights about a man on the topic of fail- ure. His name was George Herman Ruth, Jr. Otherwise known as “Babe.” Babe Ruth, the “Bambino,” the “Sultan of Swat.” His career in the big leagues lasted from 1914 to 1935. He is known as the best and greatest baseball player of all time. He was the American League’s most valu- able player, the American League batting champion six times, the RBI (runs batted in) champion six times and the home run champion 12 times. Babe played for seven world champion teams with the New York Yankees. He is still, after all of this time, in the top ten in batting average, times on base, runs scored, and home runs. He’s ranked third, still, after all of these years, in number of home runs, and second, after all of these years, in RBIs. Even after 84 years, nobody beats Babe Ruth! And he did that in an era when there were no steroids and the seasons were much shorter than they are now.

People also know that Babe Ruth was known for how many times he struck out. In fact, he had more strikeouts in his career, at that time, than anyone else had ever had. He set a new record for strike- outs, at 1,330, which is far more strikeouts than anyone had ever had prior to that. Some also called him the “King of Strikeouts.” But here was Babe Ruth’s attitude towards strikeouts: “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from coming up to bat.” “Let me tell you how to hit home runs. I swing as hard as I can, and I try to swing right through the ball… I swing big, with everything I’ve got. I hit big or I miss big. I like to live as big as I can.” Those are strong lessons for us. The story is told about this one par- ticular game. It was the ninth inning. The Yankees were behind by one, but the tying run was on base. There were

If you look at what separates those who achieve success and those who do not, you will find many significant differences in behavior. Work ethic, tenacity, determi- nation, and passion are all key differences between those who achieve success and those who do not. The biggest difference, however, is how these individuals view and deal with failure. To many people, failure is the ultimate rejection. They tell themselves, “You’re not good enough.” “They don’t like you.” Or “you’re a loser.” They allow failure to discourage them. They allow it to stop them from trying again. Champions, on the other hand, view failure completely differently. They understand what failure is. They know that failure is a necessary and essential step on the pathway to success. They don’t let failure discourage and stop them. To the contrary, failure emboldens them and increases their determination. Each time they fail, they know that they are one step closer to success.

2 AUGUST 2019 | MELALEUCA.COM

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