Tag Archives: Failure

My Toughest Challenge Accomplished! Tough Mudder

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So this past Saturday I ran a 12 mile, 24 obstacle course called the Tough Mudder. If you are a friend of mine on Facebook or a Social Media Connection you have seen some of the pictures of our event. So I have been traveling non stop for the past three weeks and this was the finale of my 3 week travels. I started in North Carolina facilitating an Elite Consulting Course for NetApp then spoke at a Sales Conference in Vegas to 100 sales people, managers and operations for Peak Campus Companies. Flew back in town, Atlanta, and then woke up and drove to Society Hill, SC to participate in the Tough Mudder with the High Achievers Muddervation team. I tell you all this not to impress you but to show you that you can do anything you put your mind to. I went from NO EXERCISE 20 weeks ago to exercising every week including doing a month of Operation Boot Camp.

The Tough Mudder Pledge:

I UNDERSTAND THAT TOUGH MUDDER IS NOT A RACE BUT A CHALLENGE.

I PUT TEAMWORK AND CAMARADERIE BEFORE MY COURSE TIME.

I DO NOT WHINE, KIDS WHINE.

I HELP MY FELLOW MUDDERS COMPLETE THE COURSE.

I OVERCOME ALL FEARS.

I have been amazed at what I have accomplished in the past 20 weeks. I have done more business, I am in the best shape of my life, and I feel great overall. When I was on the course it was a great experience to see everyone helping each other. It did not matter your age, fitness or lack their of, everyone helped everyone through the challenges, with encouragement, support and even lending a hand through the mud, dirt and water. People who had never met before that day, and didn’t even know each other’s name, all were helping each other get through this challenge. I thought to myself, and then said it aloud to friends and family, that if life worked that way everyone would definitely be better off.

Everyone was working together to complete the same goal. To finish the challenge. If we helped out everyone to finish the challenge of life, life would be better for all.

There wasn’t anyone just asking to be carried to the finish line, and everyone in the challenge was muddy, dirty, and tired with some skinned knees and injuries along the way. Just something to think about the next time you say you can’t or you wish someone would do it for you.

I’ll end with another great quote from the Tough Mudder:

NO QUIT IN HERE!

I don’t know what your “In Here” is; maybe work, maybe circumstance, maybe marriage, maybe LIFE. But the next time you are looking to Quit, remember the Tough Mudder Quote! And remember that you need a team around you to complete the challenge regardless of what that challenge is.

So if you are wondering where I have been and what I have been up to since my last blog from Brazil in September now you know. My company has been invited to  Istanbul, Turkey at the end of November for CeBIT. Life is Good!

Next blog on “Email is Dead”

 

Les Adkins is the CEO of  Orange SMS Consulting and an International Social Business Strategist, speaker, consultant and author. Bringing strategy and whole brain thinking to creative campaigns and social media through his work. Please follow @mysylbert and connect on LinkedIn Join us on FB and Google+ as well.

Day 28: Specifically What Are You Trying To Do

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So I woke up on Day 28 with this question in my head, “What am I trying to do, specifically?”

I started this 30 day journey on October 1, 2011 and I am now on day 28. I’ve talked about and implemented Organization, Goals, Making more contacts per day, Follow up, Motivation, Failure, Success, How to Not Worry, How to Push on, Developing a 30 second commercial, Review, Review, Review.

So why today did I have the question in my head “What am I trying to do”? My business is improving, my life is getting better and more fulfilled. But I realized that even though I have my goals and Life is Moving Outside the Comfort Zone for me, what, actually am I trying to do?

Then all of a sudden this video came across my computer. It’s a little long but worth watching.

So did you hear him?

Disney, CNN, MTV, Hyatt, Burger King, FedEx, Microsoft, Apple, Texas Instruments, 20th Century Fox, Gillette, AT&T, IBM, Merck, Hershey’s, Eli Lilly, Coors, Bristol-Myers, Sun, Amgen, Autodesk, Adobe, BMC, EA (Electronic Arts), Fortune Magazine, GE and HP (Hewlett Packard)

Perspective – Crisis Can Be Good

With some of my colleagues and the people I have networked with over the last three years there seems to be two things that are happening.

One: though they started a business, they are now going back to work for someone else or are focused on looking for a “job”.

Two: They are struggling or they have gone the other way and are wildly successful but either way they are pushing on.

There is a Third Party; they are the one’s blaming the economy for why they are not doing well in either looking for work or with their business.

So where are you? I am not judging anyone here, you might have had to go back to work because you just can’t seem to get ahead or you are lucky enough to have the support and finances to continue moving forward with your business. Either way you have answered the question of “What Are You Trying to Do?”.

So that’s the key, you need to decide on what it is you are trying to do. As the list above shows success comes from crisis. To get to success you have to fail a lot in order to reinvent yourself. So keep reinventing yourself.

WIN LIKE YOU ARE USED TO IT

LOSE LIKE YOU ENJOY IT

Les Adkins is the CEO of  Orange SMS Consulting and an International Social Media Strategist, speaker, consultant and author. Bringing strategy and whole brain thinking to creative campaigns and social media through his work. Please follow @mysylbert and connect on LinkedIn

Join us on FB as well.

Day 25: What Did I Do Wrong?

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So I hope everyone had a great weekend! Now getting back to our 30 day journey. If you started your daily journey when I did (October 1, 2011) you have completed your journey and have a focused outlook and more definition around:

Living Life Outside the Comfort Zone

But if you just joined us or started your journey somewhere in the middle you are still on your journey and following these Monday through Friday daily blogs.

So it is now Day 25, What did I do Wrong? As an international sales trainer and speaker  I focus on several things when speaking to audiences. But when discussing Sales I focus on two big things when you are in a meeting with a prospect.

#1. Executives and business people are too busy to meet with you just for the heck of it. So if you set a meeting there is something your company offers that they are interested in.

#2 If you don’t close the prospect (get the sale) one of three things has happened.

  • You did not show the value of what you were offering to their business.
  • Your service or solution did not meet their needs.
  • And the BIG One – They did not trust you or felt that you could not implement the services or solution that you were offering.

So I recently had a big presentation. I did the discovery meeting (the initial meeting where you discover what their needs are), and I did a ton of research on their industry, their competitors, and even talked with local store managers.

But- Guess What? They did not buy!

So what did I do wrong? That’s what I need to figure out for myself.

Did I not build the trust?

Did I understand the individual needs?

Did I not show the value?

Whatever it was I was asked to come back in a year. So as you can guess I was pretty bummed. But when I told one of my colleagues about what happened they made the statement:

Well at least you were able to present to them.

I thought about that and realized he was right. At least I got the chance to present to them and maybe down the road they will move toward needing or wanting the services I have available.  One of the main things is I got in front of them, many companies and sales people don’t even get the chance.

So what did I learn? I may not win every single company that I present to, but at least I was given the chance. And who knows what happens down the road.

As in life, and as in business you need to enjoy and learn from the journey. It makes you better, stronger and allows you to improve. If you won every one, you would never take a hard look at yourself and your company and ask.

HOW CAN I MAKE IT BETTER!

So you must always continue the journey! And always ask the question. “What Did I Do Wrong?” and then turn right around and ask “What Can I Do Better the Next Time?”!

Les Adkins is the CEO of  Orange SMS Consulting and an International Social Media Strategist, speaker, consultant and author. Bringing strategy and whole brain thinking to creative campaigns and social media through his work. Please follow @mysylbert and connect on LinkedIn

 

Join us on FB as well.

 

 

Failure and why that isn’t so bad

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So I’m taking a break from “25 signs you’ve got a strong SM Consultant or Agency” I promise that I will be back on track tomorrow.

But I came across a posting that made me stop and think. I know several of my friends and colleagues have given up on the dream of having their own business and gone back to the world of corporate America for less pay and longer hours. They’ve done it for security. So why do I keep on going with my business? There are some days I feel great and some days I feel like a failure. I discovered a blog today that brightened my spirit and my day.

Illustration: Oscar Ramos Orozco

Please check out the original posting “9 Reasons Why Failure is not Fatal” Several additional videos and Ted Talks.

Life happens and in my case it was the loss of my father-in-law and the blessing of my wife being able to spend time with him the last 5 months of his life.  But that did put us behind when it comes to finances. So all the growth my business accomplished in the last year, it now sometimes feels as if I’m starting over.

I came across this quote today and this video and it made me feel like sharing it with you.

Failure. Fear of it is universal, experiencing it is inevitable, and running from it is dependably routine. As a culture we can’t seem to shake the negativity of the term – even though most success stories have a shared foundation in some kind of accidental realization, wrong-footed first attempt, or outright error…that our only real failure is to live life without it.

J.K. Rowling: The Fringe Benefits of Failure

“What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality”

Some business people will say that I’m sharing too much but I believe that the new world of business requires more honesty and transparency and yes even just sharing your thoughts to those who read your blog. How can you trust someone if you never see that they are human.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you are feeling like a failure hopefully this added a little bit of hope to your day! I know it did to mine.

Les Adkins – Social Media Strategist, speaker, consultant, author. Bringing strategy and whole brain thinking to creative campaigns and social media through his work. Please follow @mysylbert