This Is What Happens When You Refuse To Give In To Failure

Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do. — — ~Pope John XXIII

Here is a story I received a while ago that amazed and motivated me, and I’m certain it will motivate you too…

A famous violinist, came on stage to give a concert at Lincoln Center in New York City. He was stricken with polio as a child, and so he had braces on both legs and walked with the aid of two crutches.

He walked across the stage one step at a time, painfully and slowly and with difficulty, until he reached his chair. Then he sat and slowly, put his crutches on the floor, undid the clasps on his legs, tucked one foot back and extended the other foot forward. Then he bent down and picked up the violin, put it under his chin, nodded to the conductor and proceeded to play.

The audience sat quietly while he made his way across the stage to his chair. They remained reverently silent while he undid the clasps on his legs. They waited until he was ready to play. But this time, something went wrong. Just as he finished the first few bars, one of the strings on his violin broke. You could hear it snap — it went off like gunfire across the room.

There was no mistaking what that sound meant. There was no mistaking what he had to do.

People who were there that night thought to themselves: “We figured that he would have to get up, put on the clasps again, pick up the crutches and limp his way off stage — to either find another violin or else find another string for this one.” But he didn’t. Instead, he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then signaled the conductor to begin again.

The orchestra began, and he played from where he had left off. And he played with such passion and such power and such purity as they had never heard before. Of course, anyone knows that it is impossible to play a symphonic work with just three strings. I know that, and you know that, but that night the violinist refused to know that.

You could see him modulating, changing, and recomposing the piece in his head. At one point, it sounded like he was de-tuning the strings to get new sounds from them that they had never made before. When he finished, there was an awesome silence in the room. And then people rose and cheered. There was an extraordinary outburst of applause from every corner of the auditorium. People were all on their feet, screaming and cheering; doing everything they could to show how much they appreciated what he had done. He smiled, wiped the sweat from this brow, raised his bow to quiet the room, and then he said, not boastfully, but in a quiet, pensive, reverent tone, “You know, sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.”

Isn’t that a wonderful story about carrying on when the odds are against you?

Last week I had the opportunity to speak with people about their careers and how their personal growth will affect the speed and possibility of their arriving at their goals. One thing struck me as curious as I reflect back on my week. Many of the people that I spoke with said that they were not happy in their careers. Whether it is the work, the hours, the tasks that they had to perform or ultimately the people, they just weren’t happy. This unhappiness showed up in many ways: Some were stressed to the point of breakdown, some were sending out resumes, and still others just wanted to quit and take the consequences.

For them, the music just wasn’t as sweet as it was when they started their careers. The challenge and energy was gone, and they just ceased to “live”, becoming routine in everything that they did.

They had failed to realize that they still had some beautiful music inside them.

What a shame when you see someone with so much potential and so little hope, who live their lives controlled by a failure or an event that happened, often years ago. My heart goes out to these people, but I can’t do anything except give a road-map. It is ultimately them who have to take action and move towards success.

I’ve heard it said many times: For things to change, I must change.

What we need to do, is be the kind of people who are willing to take action on what we want and need.

Here are some simple steps on how to get in the habit of taking action:

1. There will never always be a perfect time…so don’t wait for the conditions to be perfect. It is possible that they never will be. You need to overcome the challenges and obstacles as they appear.
2. Remember, many people go to their graves with un-acted upon dreams and ideas. Many is the time when we have thought of an idea and said “someday” only to find later that someone else had the same idea and took action upon it and became successful or famous. Ideas have value only when you act upon them.
3. Instead of being afraid of what you think will happen, be willing to face the fear(Forget Everything And Run)… and overcome it.
4. Hold yourself accountable. Don’t be a “Wish I had of” kind of person instead be a “Glad I did” person.
5. It’s great to have a plan, but don’t plan it to death. Some people spend their time planning because it’s easier than doing. Don’t waste time wondering what will happen. Start making it happen.
6. Act enthusiastic and you’ll be enthusiastic. Mr. Dale Carnegie said that Enthusiasm was the little known secret of success.

This week, as you are sculpting your career and your life, don’t try to shape others, begin with yourself instead, embrace the broken strings of life, see what music you can still make from them, and you will be creating the you that you have always envisioned and knew that was inside.

Make this your best week ever.

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My vision is quite simple: to make an impact on the lives of the people who have been entrusted to me: You (for reading this article), my family and my clients.

I coach people. Direct, practical, innovative, meaningful. I coach for excellence.I love what I do… and so do my clients.

Over the years I’ve noticed that business coaching that was supposed to make us stronger actually took away our confidence and made us doubt ourselves. Confidence and people skills aren’t developed just by measuring and planning everything, they grow through doing and learning from experience and by taking risks. People want to make a difference. Build teams. Be better understood. Live more confidently.

I am committed to creating a world where business people communicate and act with confidence to create better worlds for themselves. Worlds where they feel powerful and free to express themselves. Worlds where something as simple as conversation creates energy, understanding and impact. Worlds so exquisite, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

If you found this article helpful, insightful or moving, please let me know, if you think it can help others, please share it with them.