What is success?   Recently, I have been thinking a lot about this…Is success a framework or a state of mind?  How do you define success? Can we ever really define what success really is or encompasses? How do others view our “success”? More importantly, how do you view another individuals “success“?

People never do anything perfectly the first time they try it…not in sports, not in games, not in school, and most certainly not in work organizations. When they engage in something new and different, people make a lot of mistakes. That’s what experimentation is all about. Research scientists know this very well…there’s a lot of trial and error involved in testing new concepts, new methods, and new practices.

Consider the times when you tried to play a new game or a new sport. Maybe it was skiing, snowboarding, tennis, bridge, golf, hockey, or poker. Did you get it perfect the very first day? Not likely. For example, do you imagine that you could navigate a skateboard or snowboard all day long the first time you get on it? Are you very likely to win a game of chess the very first time you play or record a part the first time you play golf?

Over and over again, people in our studies tell us how important mistakes and failure have been to their success. Without mistakes we’d be unable to know what we can and cannot do (at least at this moment). Without those experiences, respondents said they would have been unable to achieve their aspirations. It may seem ironic, but many echo the thought that the overall quality of work improves when people have a chance to fail. Studies of the innovation process make the point: “Success does not breed success. It breeds failure. It is failure which breeds success.” So think about it…success is the essence of failure. That is not only powerful but totally empowering, because it reverses the idea that failure is always negative…ponder that as you go about being successful.

Lately I have been really pondering about how we can effect change in this world…change for the better.  I know I know…I can hear it now…Martin there are a million and one things that can and should be done.  I was talking to a friend over the weekend who was telling me about the sadness and pain that is STILL going on in the 9th Ward, and other areas of New Orleans that were devastated by Hurricane Katrina.  So what can you do to empower others and make a change? While you are thinking about this, ponder these thoughts…

When you look back on your life, are you pleased with what you see?  Have you made good decisions?  Have you been good to others?  Have you done your best?  This exercise is usually played out on a person’s death bed and is all too often filled with regrets and thoughts of unfulfilled dreams or promises.  Most people wish they had spent more time with the people they loved and the activities they enjoyed.  They usually don’t wish they had worked more nor had more stress in their lives.  Writing your own obituary or imagining your own funeral can be an eye-opening look into your own life while there is still time to make some important changes. While this may sound morbid to some, it can actually be very thought-provoking and allow you to set some new goals and re-focus your energies toward things you may have been putting off or didn’t have the courage to begin.  Ask yourself what you would like people to say about you at your funeral.  How will you be remembered?  Will they talk about your kindness and generosity or your inability to get along with people and your sarcastic attitude?  If you want to be remembered as someone who made a difference in others lives and made a positive contribution to society, the time to start is now.  It’s never too late to start living the legacy by which you would like to be remembered.

Empower your life now, by empowering other individual’s  lives.  Why not start today…why not start now?

What you do makes a difference.  What you do impacts the lives of others and empowers them to effect change.  You have that power, and it does not matter whether you are young or old.  Take a look as what some of these amazing people did at various times in their lives.  They were truly empowered.

Ted Williams, at age 42, slammed a home run in his last official time at bat.

Mickey Mantle, age 20 hit 23 home runs his first full year in the major leagues.

Golda Meir was 71 when she became Prime Minister of Israel.

William Pitt II was 24 when he became Prime Minister of Great Britain

George Bernard Shaw was 94 when one of his plays was first produced.

Mozart was just seven when his first composition was published.

Benjamin Franklin was a newspaper columnist at 16 and a framer of the United States Constitution when he was 81.

Age has little to do with ability.  You’re never too young or too old if you’ve got talent, vision, and determination.  This is true empowerment! So what is stopping you?  Get out and make a difference…