Guilt isn’t Noble. 3 Better Ways to Respond to Failure

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Guilt isn’t Noble. 3 Better Ways to Respond to Failure

It was the beginning of 2018 and I believed that I was on the cusp of "the next big thing."

After nine months of hard work, I had built a platform called Educo with TED Talk speakers to help them turn their content into step-by-step applications that people could use to take action on the advice from their talks.

The idea of helping individuals take action on expert advice had been a dream of mine for years – and finally it was about to become a reality.

It was not long, however, before my dream turned into a nightmare.

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Bring Your Best Self to Every Moment

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Bring Your Best Self to Every Moment

The clock was ticking…And I was up against it.

I had just begun calling experts to sell them on the Educo platform, and I hadn’t had much success yet.

I was nervous.

I was awkward.

I was failing.

And I needed some way to separate my ego from the results.

In life, certain things will always be out of your control. How others respond to you is one of them.

Of course, you can improve your communication skills, but if someone has a bad day, they are not going to respond as well to a proposal.

In moments like that, you need to let go of focusing on results, and focus on what you can control.

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Rule #7: It's Better to Look Stupid Than Perfect

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Rule #7: It's Better to Look Stupid Than Perfect

There is nothing special about me.

Throughout school, I was a B student...
I was never talented at sports...
And my English teachers would laugh if they knew I made a living from writing.

However, this lack of talent forced me to learn several crucial life skills:

  • I had to develop a strong work ethic.
  • I had to practice habitually.
  • And I had to learn how to learn.

But I never would have developed these skills without one crucial factor...
 

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Rule #6: Principles Before Practicality

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Rule #6: Principles Before Practicality

There is no worse state of mind than desperation.

You forget your values.
You compromise your principles
You make big sacrifices with equally big consequences.

You become so focused on getting out of whatever jam you're in, that you lose sight of what the consequences of your actions will lead to down the road. 

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Rule #3: Never Give in to Guilt

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Rule #3: Never Give in to Guilt

There are two things I'm sure everybody reading this has experienced at some point:

Failure & Guilt.

Everybody has tried... 
Everybody has failed...
And everbody has felt guilty about letting friends, family, or themselves down.

But does feeling guilty really motivate you to "get back on track?"

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How I Doubled My Creativity and Productivity by Creating Scarcity

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How I Doubled My Creativity and Productivity by Creating Scarcity

I’m a writer without the use of his hands…what am I going to do?

Those were my thoughts as the doctor put my wrist into a splint. 

For the next month, I wouldn’t be able to type.

Being an old-fashioned guy, my doctor suggested buying a notebook and pen. A fine idea, but it doesn’t quite work for writing articles on the Internet. So I came home, opened Google, and searched for solutions to my problem.

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How George Lucas Lost His Integrity...and Why it's So Important

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How George Lucas Lost His Integrity...and Why it's So Important

"People don’t realize Star Wars is actually a soap opera and it’s all about family problems – it’s not about spaceships." 

Said George Lucas soon after watching Star Wars Episode VII in an interview with Charlie Rose. This was the first time he'd put Star Wars in someone else's hands, and he felt like it had been abused.

“There were two things that have been abused from the original release of Star Wars.

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8 Writers That Will Make You a Willpower Superstar

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8 Writers That Will Make You a Willpower Superstar

Done!

I had officially completed The Will of Heroes, and I felt incredibly proud of the accomplishment.

But as I moved onto the acknowledgements and citations I realized just how much brilliant writers and researchers who came before me have influenced my work.

The rigorous research, the groundbreaking conclusions, and brilliant principles taught by these people helped me become a willpower superstar—and they can help you become one as well!

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How Fear Kills Your Willpower—And How to Fight Back

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How Fear Kills Your Willpower—And How to Fight Back

I couldn’t believe my eyes. The towers that stood as a symbol of the iconic New York City skyline were up in flames. 

People were jumping out of windows…

The streets were filled with emergency responders…

And almost 3,000 people died from the incident…

Even as a Canadian at the time, the images will forever be burned in my memory. And they justifiably instilled a sense of fear into millions of Americans. Americans who would soon lose their lives because of that fear.

Over the next few years alone, almost just as many Americans died due to the terror attacks of 9/11.

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10 Lessons in Willpower From Publishing My First Book

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10 Lessons in Willpower From Publishing My First Book

I’ll never forget that moment.

I had been studying the biographies of successful people for years trying to find the key factors that led them to greatness. I found things that were pretty obvious indicators of success—dreaming big, setting goals, working hard, and so on. 

But these alone could not be the answer I was looking for. 

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Saving Willpowered: My Epic 2-Month Journey

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Saving Willpowered: My Epic 2-Month Journey

It was a beautiful Saturday in early September and I was in total bliss.

I was at a lake house, my friends were all around, and we were simply relaxing - enjoying the last days of summer. Then a rush of panic came over me as I realized the truth of the situation.

This was all a lie. In reality, I was doomed. 

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How Joe DeSena's Perspective Made His Will Unbreakable

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How Joe DeSena's Perspective Made His Will Unbreakable

In 2001, Joe DeSena, the founder of The Spartan Race, was in a car accident that ripped his hip out of his socket.  

After his injury, the first 4 doctors he met with said that he would never be able to run again. This news devastated Joe. He was an athlete all of his life and could not imagine never running again.

So Joe refused to accept that fate. He decided that he was going to do everything he could to be able to run again. This made him hyperfocused. He was going to prove doctors wrong, and to prove that his will was unbreakable.

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How Temple Grandin Overcame Challenges With Autism to Achieve Greatness

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How Temple Grandin Overcame Challenges With Autism to Achieve Greatness

 

Her mother prayed for good news as she sent 3-year old Temple Grandin to a speech therapist. 

 

Diagnosed with autism, Temple was thought to be incapable of learning language. In the 1950s, that meant she would be institutionalized all of her life unless she could show she was capable of entering school. 

Her parents tried everything they could, and this speech therapist was their last resort. 

Thankfully, against all odds, young Temple made progress. It was slow, but Temple was able to speak well enough to be enrolled in a normal school.

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