To me, the only failure is the failure to not try and dream and dare. And I deeply feel that the greatest risk you will ever take in your life is if you never take a risk. -- Robin Sharma

Photo Credit: Rosaura Ochoa

Or does it?  Why do so many small businesses fail?  Why are there so many stories about failure?  Do we look for failure? 

When I look back at the last ten years of being an entrepreneur, I have failed miserably a number of times.  But guess what?  I am still here. :-)

I recently read an article from Harvard Business School's, Working Knowledge blog about Why Companies Fail-- and How Their Founders Can Bounce Back.  The article does a great job of illustrating how entrepreneurs should view failure as a potential for improvement.

The statistics are disheartening no matter how an entrepreneur defines failure. If failure means liquidating all assets, with investors losing most or all the money they put into the company, then the failure rate for start-ups is 30 to 40 percent, according to Shikhar Ghosh, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School who has held top executive positions at some eight technology-based start-ups. If failure refers to failing to see the projected return on investment, then the failure rate is 70 to 80 percent. And if failure is defined as declaring a projection and then falling short of meeting it, then the failure rate is a whopping 90 to 95 percent.

"Very few companies achieve their initial projections," says Ghosh. "Failure is the norm."

Well, now that really sucks!!! :-)  However, it really depends on how you look at all this.  As Ghosh mentions in his article, start-ups "believe they can predict the future, rather than try to create a future with their customers".  Maybe when starting something we shouldn't set goals or targets, but create something that we are passionate about that really fills a void that is needed by a specific group of individuals out there?  Would that work?  Maybe.

I have talked about this before in a previous post, where the best goal is no goal.  In the post I refer to an amazing post written by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits.  Leo does a great job of explaining how beneficial and exhilrating this can be if you can alter your process slightly and try this.

Here’s the secret: the problem isn’t you, it’s the system! Goals as a system are set up for failure. -- Leo Babauta

It does all sound crazy, however, maybe it's worth a shot.  Maybe we just need to change our perception of failure and do things we really love doing, that will help make peoples lives better.  Or as Ghosh says,

Revising expectations

Ghosh notes that venture capitalists could help mitigate personal failures by allowing for the expectation of company growing pains. He points out that a baseball player with a .350 average is considered to be a success, even though he has a .650 failure rate. But in entrepreneurial management, there's a tendency to see things in black and white, rather than looking at the whole picture.

What do you think about failure? 

Always remember: the journey is all. The destination is beside the point.

‘A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.’ ~Lao Tzu

I think it is.  Do you?  

Do you think taking care of your health is the most important thing in your life?  I know with today's world we all work hard at our jobs, which takes up most of our time these days and the demands of the job can make it difficult to devote enough time to other areas of our lives that impact our overall wellness and quality of life. 

How do the long hours at the office impact your health?  Do we make healthy choices when we're starved for time?  How many of us have bought a gym membership and still say"I just can't fit it in today"?

Well, I truly think we need to skip the excuses and find a way.  This is where we need to be better leaders and make our health our number one priority.  I decided to take charge of my health after reading Robin Sharma's - The Greatness Guide 6 years ago and it has been at the forefront of my priorities ever since.  Listen to this quick podcast from Sharma about the importance of health.

Wow!!!!  What are you doing or going to do to make your health your wealth?  

If I can recommend something that I think will help your health, it is the P90X or Insanity programs.  No, I am not getting paid by them to say this.  It is something I truly believe in. :-) They are great programs that help you get a truly great workout in a short period of time.  I have done them both over the last year and I can truly say I am as fit as I have been in years.  I am not saying you have to go to this extreme, however, I truly think they are great options that you can do in your home and achieve results.

Yes, they are tough, but as Robin says, "those who don't make time for exercise, must make time for illness."

Please share how you stay healthy.  I would love to learn more.

Photo Credit: Fenchurch

The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.  - Theodore Roosevelt

Being a business owner, it is evident that your objective is to promote sales and increase your income. So it becomes very important to maintain cordial relationship with your customers. Do not think that a successful sale is the end of your relationship with that customer? How can we take our relationships to the next level?  Here are a few things I think can help improve your relationships with your customers:

1.  Over the top helpfulness

 Like most businesses it is most likely that you might have other products or services to offer your customer and or prospects that should help them with something. You may even want to promote an up-graded version of the product you have already sold them. This is all great, but the most important thing to remember is that you should always do more than what you are paid to do.

2.  Listen twice as much as you speak

Although customers have a wide range of options they prefer to stick to companies with whom they have had a positive experience and built a good rapport with. Relationship building is an integral part of developing your business and you may go about achieving it in a number of ways.  one of those ways is listening to your customer when they are communicating with you and make them feel like the world has stopped and they are the only person in the world that matters right now.  Imagine how much trust and loyalyt you can build when you truly listen?  Don't let your ego get in the way.  People who do the most taking don't necessarily have all the answers.  True leadership is about listening. 

Build two-way communication. When it comes to customer relations, "listening" can be every bit as important as "telling." Use every tool and opportunity to create interaction, including asking for feedback through your Web site and e-newsletters, sending customer surveys (online or offline) and providing online message boards or blogs. Customers who know they're "heard" instantly feel a rapport and a relationship with your company.

3.  Networking

Yes, get out from behind your computer and connect with your customers, partners, business community...everyone!  When people see you, they remember you.  I am pretty sure it is safe to say we all do business with people we like.  I know I have not done a great job of this lately, so starting this month on our Facebook page we will be posting a monthly opportunity to have lunch with Adrian and I.  The first two people to comment we will buy lunch for you and have enjoy a great lunch and conversation.  Sound like fun?  Watch for it.

4.  Have fun  

I want you to stop taking things so serious.  Just have fun and don't be so stressed over things.  We should enjoy our work and laugh a little.  Did you know the average 4 year-old laughs 300 times a day while the average adult laughs about fifteen times a day?  Have fun!

5.  Be Nice

 Along with having fun, it is actually ok and quite cool to be nice. :-)  The nice guys have a real opportunity to finish first.  In my books, nice guys never finish last.  This has been one of our core values from day one.

I just finished reading The Leader Who Had No Title by Robin Sharma and a lot of this post can be attributed to what I learned from reading this book, along with how we have operated Evolving Solutions over the last 9+ years.

What do you think?  How do you build your relationships with your customers?  

Watch for a future post as I discuss social media and the impact it has on your relationships and your social currency.

After you've done your part by giving your best, relax and accept whatever comes back to you.  You did all you could do.  You acted responsibly and made the best moves and highest choices that were within your power to make.  Now let the higher power take over and lead you to where you were meant to go.  Let life take you to the path of your destiny.

It's a tough question, but I think all of us like to have some sort of control in our life.  But when you sit back and think about it, is it really worth it to try and control everything?  What are we accomplishing when we try to control everything?  I can tell you a few things that will probably occur when you try - stress, overworked, tired, rushed.  If you are a control freak, you probably say this a lot.  "Geez, I wish there were more hours in a day" :-)

I have been thinking about this a lot lately and maybe it's because I am reading this book now.  And maybe this is why this quote caught my attention today:

There's no doubt that, as human beings, we cannot control all that happens to us -- that's the fate part.  Life runs along according to its own course.  But what we do have enormous control over is the way we respond to what life sends our way.  So that's the partnership:  do your best --the very best that you know how to do in every dimension of your life -- and then let life do the rest.  It's really a delicate balance between making it happen and letting it happen. -- Daily Inspiration, Robin Sharma

But how can I let go even more, so life just happens.  I think I am pretty good at this, but there is always room for improvement.

What things can you let go of to make life happen for you?

Here are some other blog posts I have read that might help you with letting go.

1. Learn to Love Less
2. the zen of doing
3. The Power of Focus

Remember the song by GNR (Guns N' Roses), Patience.  Well I think we all need to have a little patience when it comes to life, work, family...everything.  Here are some great quotes I read this morning that made me think of this, both from my Daily Inspiration Book by Robin Sharma.  And while you read, why not chill out to a little Axel?

Most people believe that it takes months and years to transform their lives.  Actually, you can literally change your life in an instant by making a single decision never to go back to the way you have been living - no matter what.  What takes months, years and sometimes decades is the maintenance required to live by that decision.  -- Daily Inspiration, Robin Sharma

I thought it would be fun to share with you some blog posts I recently viewed over the last few days.  Hopefully you can get some value from them like I did.  You will notice that 3 of the 5 post talk about "passion" in some way, shape or form.  Enjoy and please feel free to share some great posts you recently viewed.