Everyone of us has been in the feeling of defeat due to something not turning out the way we’d planned, whether it’s personal or professional. Wikipedia has an interesting way of defining “disappointment.” If you take a moment to look the word up, here’s what you’ll find: “The feeling of dissatisfaction that follows a failure of expectations to manifest. It differs from regret in that the individual feeling regret focuses primarily on personal choices contributing to a poor outcome, while the individual feeling disappointment focuses on the outcome.”
Read this real life Case Study of the string of disappointments this famous American endured during the first 50 years of his life…
At the age of 7, his family was forced out of their home, so he worked to help support his parents.- At the age of 9 his mother died.
- At the age of 21 he failed in business.
- At the age of 22 he ran for the legislature, lost his job, and was turned down for law school.
- At the age of 23 he started another business on borrowed money, by age 24 was bankrupt.
- At the age of 25 he was engaged to be married and his fiancé died.
- At the age of 26 he had a nervous breakdown and was in bed for six months.
- At the age of 28 he was defeated as speaker of the state legislature.
- At the age of 33 he ran for congress and lost.
- At the age of 38 he ran for congress again and lost.
- At the age of 44 he ran for the US Senate and lost.
- At the age of 46 he tried for his parties Vice President nomination. He received less than 100 votes and lost.
- At the age of 48 he ran for the US Senate again, and lost.
- At the age of 50, he was elected as the 16th President of the United States!
Of course I’m talking about Abraham Lincoln. And because of his vigilance and resolve to overcome the major disappointments in his personal and professional life, he helped reshape and even dramatically change the deeply rooted prejudices that once plagued the people of his country. Lets face it, when it comes to disappointment we can either allow it to be a weight or we can give it wings.
If your choice is to fly…
Then Take Action Now: Consciously think back to ONE big disappointment you recently experienced in your entrepreneurial life and then ask yourself these 3 questions:
- What really happened?
- What should have happened?
- What breakthrough can make it right?
By consistently and repeatedly asking these 3 questions, I’ve planted the seeds to the biggest marketing breakthroughs in which I’ve collaborated. Looking back on my own marketing accomplishments, one of the things I’m certain of is that my disappointments inspire me to storm the gates that others gladly sneak past. When you learn how to handle disappointments – miscommunications, violated expectations or thwarted intentions – as welcomed guests into your business life, you’ll have the mindset of cheerful expectancy of having a breakthrough not long after.
How do you overcome failures or disappointment? Leave your answer in the comments section below.