Why Do You Fail?-2

Most of the times in our life, we don't find the right eco-system to nurture our passion, to fulfil our ambition. That is where perseverance comes into the picture.

Think of any of the goals you wished to pursue. You tried it for a few days and gave up when you felt that that was not going to work. The first reason for giving up was already discussed in my previous blog post (Why Do You Fail?-1). We discussed that our failure to reach any goal is due to our failure to turn the behaviour into a habit that complements our goal.

Another reason for our failure to manifest success is our failure to stick on. Giving an example from the entertainment industry helps to understand this concept better. How do you recognise an artist? It is relatively easy to recognise the artist who performs a lead role in movies or serials, but what about the supporting character artists?

Many years ago, I watched a Kannada movie which was in news for its unique content. But, I couldn't remember the artist who enacted the role of the villain. It was only after I started recognising him as a star director and actor, I came to know that he had started his journey much before the audience started to recognise him. The night in overnight success is too long. For some, it takes five years. And for some, it takes twenty years or more.

The same process happens in every field. However, I appreciate people from the sports and entertainment field because a lot of risks is involved. Forget success, most of the time, even a livelihood is not guaranteed there if you never manage to get any project.

I was once speaking to a budding Kannada movie director, and out of curiosity, I started asking about his earlier projects. I was so fascinated when he told that he was the ghost scriptwriter of a famous TV show I enjoyed watching. Despite having such talent, he told me how much he earned in the last three years, which is not more than 2 or 3-month salary of a fresher working in any field.

Even though he could manage to earn his livelihood, he said he would not resort to it as it would stagnate his ambition of making a movie putting all his creative ideas into practice.

Professionals from the entertainment and sports industry are well aware of the process, and they mentally prepare themselves to persist until success comes their way. But, in most of the cases, people suffer disappointment by temporary failures. You should keep on striving and looking for the right kind of ecosystem, an environment and the people to fulfil your ambition.

When people start their journey to gain what they want, they never get the expected result. When the result is not in proportion to their effort, they lose hope. Between their expectation and the result, there is a gap, which is known as the Valley of Disappointment. Once they feel greatly disappointed, they stop pursuing their goal. But, if they persist, after a certain period, they can achieve the result with multiple speed than what they dreamt of. Whenever you come across people who gain popularity for their achievement, it is generally perceived that they are lucky. When people don't have any knowledge about their struggle and perseverance, they naturally tend to think that those achievers are lucky to get this kind of media attention or opportunities.

It takes 32 degrees Fahrenheit for the ice to melt. It takes two years for the pregnant elephant to give birth to its infant. Chinese bamboo takes 4 years and a few months to grow into a great height. But people feel disappointed when the ice of their success never melts at 31 degrees. They feel disappointed when the bamboo of their success never shows any sign of growth even after completing four years. If JK Rowling had given up after facing rejection from ten or eleven publishers, the world would not have seen the Harry Potter series. She faced rejection from 12 major publishing houses before her first book got published by the thirteenth publishing house Bloomsbury.

You know that you possess a skill, and you are capable of developing that skill with time. But you couldn't find the right opportunity to release your potential. You feel that your potential is stagnant which is known as Plateau of Latent Potential. As per the popular saying, "What comes fast, goes fast". If someone can win in their first effort itself, that victory may not last forever. Even software giant Infosys Narayanmurthy was not successful in his first attempt when he started a company. He started a company before but failed. It was only after a few years that he tried again and started Infosys.

It took me six years for my quest to connect with the right kind of people. Even though life is not at a roller coaster now, I have at least gained the insight into how to go ahead and gain access to the resources I need. And this journey is just the beginning.

If you want success, you need to double your failure rate and gain experience. If success looks like a mirage, you have to persist. If you enjoy what you are doing but you are not getting the desired result, then you still need to continue changing your path as per the situation. As long as you equip yourself with all the skills required for your success but not getting any result even after that, remember that success is only delayed, not denied.