Wednesday, February 15, 2017

The Triumph of Failure :: And the Defeat of Success

The New Virtual Organization World
It's a New Principled World, It's Virtual, and It's Organized




Fear is a most monstrous--and the most horrible--disease which afflicts every single human being (in fact, every living thing) on this planet.   And there are so many variants of  this disease - that just thinking about the sheer number of them makes my head spin -  the fear of failure being the deadliest one of them all.
But before you finish reading this article, I want to caution you:   This article is NOT for you if you have absolutely no interest in either learning or bringing about this world of virtual organizations I call::The New Virtual Organization World::a world that we are ALL headed toward whether we want to or not:: and it's not a matter of if but when we will all get there.  So let me now proceed.
The Triumph of Failure

But while we're on the subject of "failure," please indulge me a bit as I digress for a few seconds.

As far as I can recall, from the time that I was a 2-year old kid, all the way up until the age of 5, my dad used to lift me up on top of a kitchen roof in the middle of the yard, and tell me to jump into his arms. Knowing that my dad would never allow me to fall, I would laugh and bravely jump into his arms.   So I was no stranger to heights and jumping.

But one day, I was around 6 years old, I decided to imitate Tarzan (the comic book character) by jumping from one tree branch to another (we had a lot of trees in our yard).   Of course, I missed the destination tree branch and suffered a hard landing on the ground.   Although I was badly hurt and in a state of shock, I was more embarrassed and disappointed at myself for failing to make the jump.  

So I stood back up and, knowing how close I came to grabbing that other tree branch and being clearly aware that "fear" played a part in my failure to grab it the first time around,  and that the worst thing that could happen to me is to suffer another fall, I decided to throw all caution to the wind and, this time around, decided that I was going to give it all I got and grab that damn tree branch no matter how long it took me to accomplish that feat.    

Well, guess what?   I made it by the skin of my teeth the second time around.  And I was so damn happy that I kept going back to jump on that tree branch, to a point where it felt so natural and I had no sort of hesitation.    I was so proud of myself that I went and got my older brother (then 7 and 1/2 years old) and dared him to do the same.   He told me I was crazy and that I would hurt myself trying. I went ahead and did it effortlessly and told him my secret:  All he had to do was "overcome the fear of falling," compose himself, etc., and everything would be just fine and dandy.    Of course, he looked at me in disgust for being ridiculous and showboating, and just walked away!

That was one lesson about "fear" and "failure" which stayed with me my entire life.   What I learned from that experience was this:  Although fear played a part in my failure the first time around, but once I overcame the fear of failure, my failure itself  TAUGHT me that there was a science behind being able to jump and grab that tree branch each and every time.   Thus,  My Triumph was the result of My Failure.  

In other words, fear or not, with a little bit of luck, I could have grabbed that tree branch on the first try and, thereby, being left with the wrong impression that this is all there is to it - just jump and grab the tree branch.  And should a situation ever arise when my life would have depended on being able to grab that tree branch the first time around, and lady luck is nowhere around, I would have been a complete goner - deader than a door knob.


Now back to the subject at hand. Thus the reason why the fear of failure is so deadly.   Because once you are able to overcome the fear of failure, you will be able to embrace and experience the beauty, excitement, sensation, marvel, lesson and Triumph of Failure.

And being the perfectionist that I am, I not only embrace but relish failure. Because only through failure I am able to come up with and develop a better mouse trap, always pushing the limits;  understanding the difference between what is versus what is not, versus what I want,  versus what I need, versus what I know,  versus what I don't know,  versus what I need to know, versus what is now possible,  versus what is left to the human spirit and my imagination.    

For me it's critical that I know (or, at the very least, make every possible attempt to determine) all the possible ways that something could go wrong and how to prepare myself mentally and physically for such eventualities.   In many cases, the only way to come up with these answers is through trial and error.   Whereas, in many other cases, although it may not be necessary to try to reinvent the wheel, nonetheless, you won't know what you need to know  and where to get that information from until the situation presents itself.     You are always challenging yourself, learning and improving - and your task never ends.   That's the Beauty of Failure!  The Triumph of Failure!

Defeat of Success

As for "Success," most people confuse the word "success" with "triumph."   Success is fleeting,  a neatly stacked "house of cards" - and nothing more than an illusion.   When I hear of people striving for "success," I wish I could ask them for their definition of "success" without making them feel that I envy them, am trying to belittle them or trying to rain on their parade.  

For example, let's say that today you are President of the United States, my question to you is:  Are you a success?   I guess, most people would say, yes.  

Well, let's take this one step further:  During your presidency, you've made some powerful enemies within the Deep State due to your refusal to submit to the powers-that-be (i.e., kiss ass and do what you are told or else) and sell out the American people.  As a consequence, these forces are successful at orchestrating your impeachment and you are chased from office in disgrace and are left without a pension and related benefits (i.e., without a pot to piss in or 2 nickels to rub together).   Now my question to you is this: Are you still a success?    I guess, most people would say, no.

That is the problem with "success."   Just about Anybody can make you a "success" (parents, friends, powerful business connections, powerful political connections, powerful judiciary connections, powerful law enforcement connections, powerful military connections, investors, lenders, media moguls, puppeteers pulling your strings, oligarchs behind the throne, playbook gangsters, narco-traffickers, intelligence agencies, the Deep State, secret societies, and the list goes on).

As well, just about anybody can take away your success.   The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away!  When your success depends on others as well as the perception of--and adulation from--others, then you really have nothing at all.  It then becomes nothing but an illusion, a mirage, a "figment of your imagination."    The only thing that you are doing (or that is being done to you)  is setting yourself up for "Defeat" sooner or later.   


Why?  That's because if you piss off somebody else bad enough, it's only a matter of time before your whole "house of cards" comes crashing down.   The trash bin of  our present time period (forget about history) is littered with all these "success has-been"  that are now deemed to be "total abject failures," completely irrelevant, languishing in complete obscurity and feeling sorry for themselves because life dealt them a bad break or they've come to find out that success is not at all what they thought it was going to be or figured it was meant to be.


Whereas, the Triumph of your Failure is Eternal.  No one can take away the valuable, priceless and timeless lessons you learned from your failures and your accomplishments.  Think of Nikola Tesla, the inventor of the modern world that we currently live in Although he died penniless, "The world will wait a long time for Nikola Tesla’s equal in achievement and imagination," stated E. Armstrong. No One Can Take Away Your Failure From You. The Triumph of your Failures belongs to You and Only You and NO ONE ELSE.  Moreover, no one is interested in your failures because they view it as:  something to be ashamed of, to cover up, conceal or hide under the rug; nothing of value; and definitely nothing to be proud of or worthy of mention to the world as your claim to fame.   No one cares to know about your failures. No one wants your failures.

And no one wants to fail!  Only because we live in a society which associates failure with mediocrity, incompetence, and Losers!  Whereas I associate failure with Winners!           

Your Fear of Failure

Which now brings me to the next subject I want to bring up with you.   I know that many of you are very curious, excited, enthusiastic, fascinated and even tempted to join me in our quest to make this world of virtual organizations I call::The New Virtual Organization World::a reality for all of mankind.

Be it in the position of Official Global Ambassador of VOMI Global Think Tank,  Distinguished Member of League of Extraordinary Virtual Organization Executives, or  Member of one of these three (3) consortia:  Virtual Campus Dormitory Consortium, Virtual Residential Community Consortium, and The New Virtual Organization World Consortium.

However, the one thing that I see holding back a great number of you is that Fear of  Failure I've been talking about.    Although there are many legitimate and asinine reasons why you are afraid to take the jump (e.g., fear, ignorance, new concept, company politics, bureaucratic red tape, neanderthal boss, membership dues, losing credibility, colleagues, etc.,) nonetheless, these fears are only secondary to your primary reason which is "Your Fear of Failure."

Here is what I mean by that:   Although you are afraid of making a stupid decision which might ruin your current reputation and carefully crafted mystique:: i.e., cause your colleagues to wonder about your "intellectual sophistication, level and degree of maturity, good judgment, and strong business acumen" and subject you to ridicule, the loss of your good standing with them or even your position::  that, in and of itself,  would not be sufficient to deter you from taking the jump into The New Virtual Organization World if you knew for a fact that there was no way for you to fail.
  
On the contrary, you would take a great deal of comfort and delight in daring and taunting your doubting St. Thomas colleagues by saying to them, "Hey, watch me and prepare for all the great things coming soon down the road." 

Therefore, your primary concern is really NOT so much about what your colleagues may think of you or any number of semi-legitimate, bureaucratic, lame, idiotic and nonsensical excuses that you may have.   Instead, your ultimate concern and fear is really all about the consequences you will suffer IF YOU FAIL.

Get Over Your Fear of Failure

Therefore, as I have already outlined, it is imperative that you get over your fear of failure because  Once You Get Over the Fear of Failure,  the Sky is the Limit!   

You will NOT want to come over and join me  just so you can sit your ass on a tree branch with me and be just another scary cat spectator trying to check out the situation before you make any kind of moves.  

You WILL want to dive right into this new world in order to do your part and get things moving along in the right direction.   You WILL also want to quickly invite your Colleagues to join you without any fear or hesitation.    You will be able to join me in order to embrace and experience the beauty, excitement, sensation, marvel and Triumph of Failure in The New Virtual Organization World.   

Because, only through that failure, you and I and your colleagues will be able to do great things, come up with and develop a better mouse trap, always pushing the limits;  accomplish what others can only dream of;  and understand the difference between what is versus what is not, versus what we want,  versus what we need,  versus what we know,  versus what we don't know,  versus what we need to know,  versus what's possible now,  and versus what is left to our imagination in order to make The New Virtual Organization World a reality for all of mankind for future generations throughout the coming millennia.

You will notice that I used the words "You and I, We," all for good reason.   Let me explain.

You see, I am NOT asking you to "Get on Top of a Roof, Jump Into My Arms, and Trust that I Would Never Allow You to Fall."

What I am offering you instead is "An Opportunity for You to Jump and Join Me on Another Tree Branch (The New Virtual Organization World) in order for you to put your own ingenuity to work and do what others think is impossible.  I cannot stop you from falling.  You have to learn how to prevent that on your own.


However, that being said, this jump is only possible after you are able to Get Over the Fear of Failure.   But once you get on the other tree branch, it is "YOU and I, WE" all the way.   We get to work together, fail together, learn the Science Behind Everything that We Do together,  and TRIUMPH  from our failures together.   There is no limit to what we can do in The New Virtual Organization World.  












About Author:   Pierre Coupet, CEO & Q of Virtual Organization Management is the founder of Virtual Organization Management Institute (VOMI), VOMI Virtual Organization AcademyVOMI Global Think Tankand Virtual Organization Recruiter:: founder of the modern virtual organization management and virtual organization recruitment disciplines pioneered since 1997:: founder of League of Extraordinary Virtual Organization Executives:: and Architect of THE NEW VIRTUAL ORGANIZATION WORLD Collection. Contact directly  via CHAT.

Stock Photo: courtesy of Pixabay


Copyright 2007-2017.  Pierre Coupet.  VOMI. Virtual Organization Management Institute. VOMI Virtual Organization Academy.  Virtual Organization Recruiter. VOMI Global Think Tank.  All rights reserved.  Cannot be  reproduced without permission.