How To Fail

by Tom Furman

There are thousands of articles on how to succeed. This article is on how to FAIL. That’s right. These are the things to do, so that you fail at life, in your career and personal life. It’s a formula to screw up everything you have ever dreamed.

Let’s get started.

1. Don’t Try. We have all heard it, the saying that you miss all the shots you don’t attempt. However, never risking will doom you to failure. You haven’t really attempted anything. That is a formula to fail. Zero wins. Zero losses.
2. Not Adjusting To Results. While many people try things, they are not always happy with the results. Rather than analyze the problem and attempt again, they move in another direction since they view bad results as a weighty omen not to continue. So they fail.
3. Unable To Change Behavior. There is a simple success formula. If you don’t like your results, change your behavior. That’s it. Simple. However some people can’t change their behavior and therefore are doomed to fail.
4. Constantly Breaking The Rules. This is very apparent. There are individuals who think they are above the law. Parking illegally, driving erratically, cutting in line, cheating at everything and believing the rules are for everyone else but them. They have failed before even starting.
5. Being A Lousy Communicator. Now this does not mean your ability to give a speech in front of thousands. This means returning communication in the era of Social Media, texting, Skype, email and Facetime. How often do you send a message of importance and the person you send it to does not reply or when they see you at a later date, they say, “I didn’t have a chance to reply”. Of course their thumbs were broken. They failed at connecting with another human.
6. Wanting Fast Results. Anyone who has been successful will tell you that it has been a journey. Those who fail want 30 day results or else. Their lives are too busy, complex and important to be bothered by the mundane process of focused effort over a long period of time.
7. Ignoring Science. While you may have passed Physics, Chemistry and Health Class in Middle School, you have failed to retain a similar thinking process. You are now an anti-vaxxer who claims that essential oils can replace medicine. When someone gets a cold and posts it on Facebook, you actually present a cure for a virus. You passed science in Middle School but fail as an adult.
8. Not Taking Responsibility. There are people who don’t take responsibility. They are called VICTIMS. There are no victims without enablers. They blame the Illuminati, Gov’t, Big Pharma, Western Medicine, Monsanto, their boss/corporation/union/spouse/friends/co-workers, for everything. How can they succeed if they don’t have the power to do so? That is why they fail. They aren’t responsible.
9. While You Are Unique, You Are Not That Different. While your Mom or Dad told you that you were a special, little, snowflake, the truth is, you are not that different. You have a similar make up to other humans. Similar range of temperature, blood PH, organization of bones & organs. Let’s put it this way. You are not a Vulcan with green blood, steadfast control of emotions and reorganized organs. While there is a range of variables, we are fairly similar. The people who think they are DIFFERENT, often fail. They believe they have to live by an unfair set of rules.
10. Not Focusing On Small Improvements. Failures want things and want them now. They don’t simply focus on getting a series of small, ‘wins’, and letting them stack up. They think they deserve success NOW. The very nature of saving a few dollars, running a little further, reading an extra book or getting work done quickly escapes those who fail.
11. Those Who Fail Have Excuses. Those who succeed constantly search for solutions. They view the process as a path and look at the results or evidence. Then they adjust their attitude and strategy to get close to the target, bit by bit. Failures just blame.

None of the above points is overwhelming or impossible to change. Does it take diligence? Yes. Will you have to be honest with yourself? Yes. Either hold up a mirror or have someone do it for you. The difference between success and failure is between the ears.

— The End.