Through out history men and women have failed.  It happens to all of us at one time or another, but the question is what are you going to do about it?

Failure isn’t such a bad thing if we look at it the right way.  Failure can be the best teacher, and help us to stay humble and grounded to what is really important.

So when we do fail we have the choice to curl up into the fetal position or we can choose to learn and do better.

Here are three examples of people that choose to learn and continue moving forward no matter the set backs.

Four strikes and you are out?

Between the years of 1843-1855 R.H. Macy opened 4 stores all which dwindled and failed but did that stop him from moving forward?

Not only no, in 1858 R.H. Macy open the 1st of what is now a chain of almost 800 stores.

How many times would you have to be told “No” before you gave up?

1, 10, 100, over 1,000?

Harland David Sanders, better known as Colonel Sanders endured being told no over and over again.  Carrying his secret mixture of herbs and spices to find the one yes.

It has gone to become the second largest restaurant chains with around 19,000 outlets in 118 countries and territories.

Even if you don’t like his chicken, you have to love his determination!

How would you react to…

• Losing your mother to illness at the age of 9
• Losing your job due to your boss making poor business decision
• Losing a election where you just need to be in the top 4 vote getters
• Borrow money to start a business, business fails and end up paying not only portion but the portion of your partner who passed away after the business closes its doors
• Fiance dies
• Ran for Congress but failed to achieve his party’s nomination
• Was beat out for prominent federal position when the Secretary of the interior choose someone else
• Unable to attain a seat for the US Senate twice
• Won the election to become the 16th President of the United States.

Can you imagine how the course of history could have been changed if any of these set backs kept him from moving forward?

So the next time you have a set back, remember that failures are events and they do not define who you are.  I have no doubt that Lincoln, Macy or Sanders would tell you the exact same thing!

Life is crazy!!

When things settle down I will start making plans to achieve ___________ (fill in your dreams).

I have personally dealt with the, “When things get less crazy, I will start” syndrome.  We all go through this, kids are taking up too much time, work has me running in so many directions, I have church responsibilities, etc.

There will always be excuses not to start, but a time has to come for all of us to decide that we are ready for change no matter how hard it may seem.  Baby steps in the right direction may be the easiest way to go about it.

Wake up early
Studies have shown that when we wake up early with specific tasks in mind that we are more likely to stay focused on the task at hand and complete them.

Scare yourself
Ask yourself “If I don’t change what I am doing, am I going to be happy with my future if it stays the same?”

If you don’t know how things are going to work in the future then you know it is time to do something different.

Work from a list
When we are leaving on vacation, there always seem like there is so much we need to take care of before we start lathering on the sun screen.  So we tend to be focused on getting those must do’s done. The last thing we want is to worry about real life while we relax.

We do this by focusing on a list of what needs to be done and prioritize it to ensure that whether we are at the beach or just laying down for a good night sleep, we can do it with out stress. Live with what we call a vacation list and prioritize and focus on it daily.

Start Small
You don’t wake up one morning and you have everything in place.

Add one or two things into your life and build your routine but never stop adding things that make your life better.  Slowly replace bad or outdated habits with good or better habits.

Be Consistent
Things will go wrong and you may feel like things will never change, but when we stick with a proven process, progress will happen.

Commit to your new “No Matter What” activity for a year.  Even if you don’t feel like you have made progress as fast as you would like, keep going and trust the process.  It will WORK if you STICK with the plan.

My friend and team member Aneaya challenged me to help get the word out about 22Kill.com.  She is doing 22 push ups for 22 days to spread the word about the 22 soldiers a day that commit suicide a day.

So who is 22KILL.COM and what are they doing to help are returning service men and women?

What is #22KILL?

#22KILL is a global movement created by veterans with a mission to:

• Honor those who serve(d)
• Raise awareness to veteran suicide and mental health issues such as PTS and TBI
• Educate the public about current veteran-related topics and issues
• Recruit Veteran Advocates aka “Battle Buddies”
• Support various veteran empowerment programs; i.e. Honor Courage Commitment, Inc. (HCC), Equest Hooves for Heroes, Brain Treatment Foundation, Center for BrainHealth, REACT, Adaptive Training Foundation, and more.

Veteran Advocates aka “Battle Buddies” wear the #22KILL Honor Ring™ – a black band worn on the right index finger. By choosing to become part of Team #22KILL and wearing this ring, you are committed to:

• Research and learn about your local veteran service organizations and what their missions and needs are
• Focus on veteran strengths and challenge negative attitudes around veteran “issues”
• Advocate for veterans in a positive light in any platform you have
• Raise awareness to the issues of veteran suicide, and follow up with a positive solution through education and empowerment through programs offered from local nonprofits and veteran service organizations
• Believing that veterans are America’s greatest asset and learning to love them and show them that you care

I am honored to be doing these as I have so many friends that have or are serving in the military right now.  It is only 22 push ups