I have Failed too

I have #failed and failed big time. This is very personal. It is also a message that needs to be shared for everyone to know that failing isn't always bad, even if it feels that way at the time.

13 years ago, I started an adventure to help protect kids and families so they could get home safely. In the event someone did go missing, the kick-off to the process was incredibly more streamlined 15 minutes vs. 4 hours. I sank over $100,000 into this business to start it. That required me to wipe out my retirement accounts (including the penalties and taxes).

I lost all of it. I admit that I failed. Then I decided, and it was a decision, that it was a F.A.I.L., though it was a very expensive one.

I made it a First Attempt In Learning about the things that I did wrong. I vowed not to repeat those mistakes to myself. I made sure to educate myself and build so that someday I could make another attempt at an idea that I know will change the world.

Here are three things I invested more of the next decade into learning with everything that I did.
1. How to innovate- No matter how marvelous an idea is, if you fail to execute it, the idea fails. Part of the execution of an idea is people accepting it. I have studied and gotten multiple certifications in innovation and six sigma and all of that. I deliberately diversified my perspective on that process to pull out the best pieces to find out how true innovation should be implemented.

2. You need people- A friend, mentor, and former boss of mine John Jacko did three distinct things for me around this. He gave me a book called Zoom by Istvan Banyai to help me see perspective. He told me to stop wearing a tie because despite that being comfortable for me, it wasn't for the culture around me (this took me 14 months to learn and changed the world when I listened). He then gave me a quote, "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." Up until that point, I was determined to blaze the trail and EXPECT people to keep up. Man, I was wrong.

3. Business is personal- Regardless of the intent of the idea and how impactful it can be, if you aren't willing to make it personal and about people, it can't be a business that is special. I was a firm believer that in business, you don't make it personal. I missed that all businesses are made of people. You have to recognize the human element and acknowledge it. There will come decisions that you need to remove sediment and move forward. But if you do so while maintaining integrity, empathy, and the golden rule, those choices are few and far between.

That FAIL has led me to a new learning and new truth about myself. It has brought me to the point where I am now and getting to talk with people across the globe about #creative #innovation for #productivity at home and work. It has led me to become an adoptive and foster parent again. It will lead me, when the timing and people are right, to work to help protect kids and families again.
#ieofc