Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx is giving a Masterclass.
Yes, Masterclass, you got me resubscribed with this one!
I subscribed to Masterclass the first time because Anna Wintour has given a class.
And now, Sara Blakely and Richard Branson are sharing their stories and insight with us. (I Highly recommend MasterClass, by the way)
There are so many people we can listen to for free on YouTube. People that inspire and provoke thought. Why pay money for subscribing to paid apps? For many reasons. Personally, I feel that one can never be too inspired.
And hey, these people really walk their talk.
I follow many channels and educational providers; from MindValley to Masterclass, YouTube channels to TedTalks, Coursera, Udemy, LinkedIn Classes, Knesix, SoftWhiteUnderbelly, Skillshare, MindTools, Teachable and many, many more. I would not want to miss any of them, given that they all offer great inspiration and further education from different sources.
Learning from others is a great way to grow. It opens up a whole new world and I feel grateful that others share their experience with an audience. Chapeau to those starting their own courses, podcasts, talks, books and classes.
Saras Masterclass; “Where did you fail in?”
In Saras Masterclass she is talking about how her father encouraged her to “fail in something”.
How intriguing!
Her family would gather around the dinner table and the father would ask “and, what did you fail in this week?” and the family would tell one another funny stories of all the things they were really bad at. What a delighted situation I can just imagine!
It takes out all of the pressure to succeed and instead invites the lightness felt and sparks curiosity.
Trying something new is what counts. And high achievers generally fail thousands of times before becoming an “overnight success”.
We will, for sure, fail in the things we try. If we measure ourselves by our successes and are afraid to fail, chances are we won’t give it our all. So how about changing that perception from success vs. failure on to being curious and playful?
Business woman and Speaker Barbara Corcoran talks about failure and encourages us to always get up and be persistent.
Never. Give. Up.
Success means failing better first
Are you scared of failure? Most people are. And it makes perfect sense; You want to be safe. In the past, failure could have killed you. Imagine our ancestors as hunter gatherers picking a poisonous berry, or missing their target; the sable-tooth tiger and in return become the target themselves. Imagine how failure could have lead to catastrophic outcomes in the past.
The thing is that failure nowadays will in many cases not be catastrophic. Failures are chances to improve and change strategy.
Think about all of those who succeeded in their careers or areas of expertise;
Michael Jordan
Richard Branson
Albert Einstein
Walt Disney
and so many more, check out their stories here and here. They have been told they’d never make it. They were not talented enough, creative enough, smart enough. Just imagine they would have given up!
Instead, they worked hard and even harder.
Persistence is the key to almost everything. It is the believe in oneself and ones abilities that keeps one going. We can do that, too!
But how?
By eliminating self-doubt, stop procrastinating and working hard on our failures. More and more. Until eventually we will succeed.
By making “failure” just a synonym for “practice”. By being playful.
Just like Saras father taught her: Make failing fun. Be light about it. Fail. And then fail better.
What is holding us back really is just ourselves.
We do not need to be talented.
We need to work hard.
We do not need to be smart.
We need to be persistent.
We do not need to listen to others limiting opinions. Their limits and perception is not ours. We can choose what advise we listen to, and what advise or critic we are refusing to let in.
When someone is criticizing you, remember; their opinion is just one out of millions and you can choose another opinion over theirs.
Start with confidence
Tapping into confidence; our behavior matters, not our attitude. What it means? Be uncomfortable and do it anyway.
Rewire your brain and little by little, you will get used to this uncomfortable feeling. It is not that bad, is it? It is just… different. Exciting.
Celebrate success
Celebrating successes – that is such an important one. Many people -I am guilty on that one- go from achievement to achievement without ever stopping and celebrating. But when we succeed and never celebrate those successes, how can we establish confidence in our abilities?
We want to look back from time to time and be proud of all the things we achieved in life.
Count all of your achievements, big and small! Personal, Social, in your career or your spiritual life. Day by day, it may feel as if nothing has changed. But when you look back, you come to realize that everything is different now. Because of the person that you have become. Because of all of the things you worked hard for.
Reward yourself.
You are amazing!
You deserve this!
