I am not failure, Patient Leadership uses failure as another opportunity to achieve greatness.

If you fall, fall on your back. If you can look up, you can get up.
Les Brown

The other night I could not sleep and it was entirely my fault. It was the night after the Toastmasters Table Topics contest, where I came in second to better competition. I believe if I would have done my best, I still would have been challenged to succeed…. BUT, I stunk, my words were garbled, my eye contact was weak and my sentences were tangled. Worst of all I conveyed the personality of a sad toad. Maybe, this a little harsh but I believe I rank with the best speakers God put on this earth. Granted I am still evolving, I believed this was a step towards my achievable dreams. All that being aside, I went home with my head hanging down. And lost sleep thinking of how many; many times I have captivated the crowd in these situations. Truth is, I failed and I needed to figure out how to right the ship and right my mind. Oh, this was my first contest of this sort, so how could a person who teaches on patience be upset.

Upset I was so I called the Magic City Toastmasters, President, Alex Bumpers and he gave me his philosophy on how I should handle this situation.

Steps to take after a failure.

State of Reflection
Allow your mind to go over the details of the events. Give yourself some time to digest and process all the events. No judgment, just contemplation

Strategic Phase
New Vision is necessary to proceed. You had a vision of what success looked like and now you have to decide if you have the same desires. Queen Janetta said,”
You have to decide if you even want to play that game anymore.” Some goals are worth going for again and others are just proving grounds for the better life.

Action Plan
“Roles and Goals”. Define who’s going to do what and when. Make decisions that will propel you to the next level. My one reason for joining
Toastmasters was to improve my skills as an inspirational speaker. After my last performance, I can see there is aspects of my craft that need enhancement.

Implementation
Alex Bumpers says, “You can’t be successful from 40,000 feet in the air, you have to get down in the trenches.” Hands on enactment are vital to the success of any
venture. Put your dreams into action. All babies need milk to grow. See and do it. The future belongs to those who are about their business.

Success or Failure
After following these steps you will either have success or failure and in both events you should go back to the Reflection phase to gather more intelligence.
By continuously repeating this process you will eliminate failures and multiply success.

Anytime you suffer a setback or disappointment, put your head down and plow ahead.
Les Brown

What process do you use after a failure or success?