Orrin,

Thanks for this post! I have to be honest that one of the reasons why I feel un-confident is: what if I succeed, what else will God have in store for me? I guess it's not a matter of failing but succeeding and the uncertainty of what is next!

Doc

Orrin-failure isn't fatal,success isn't final it's COURAGE that counts--when the players fall it's time to F.I.D.O. Forget It and Drive On. if you believe you can you're right and if you believe you can't you're right-where is your attitude--thanks for your Courage and Leadership--be free coach

Orrin,
Thanks for all that you did to get to Columbus this past weekend...We really appreciate all that you and a few true men have done to secure the future of thousands, and soon to be millions. I'm so busy living, I forgot how to play it safe. We are all facing giants. What the team has taught me is to never back down from one. Thank you for your vision...Abe

i love the fact that true leadership and success in this life is based upon failing forward! all through life we are scolded for making mistakes, sent to the

principles office, grounded, repremanded, written up at work! then we stip into an environment where it is ok to make mistakes, it shows that i am growing and really putting myself out there, so to speak! i love being part of something where all that is asked is for us to give our all, i've always loved

jumping down in the trenches and giving my all, but for fear of "messing up," in the 95% world, after a while i just kinda put my head down and got the work done like all of the other lemmings. now i am encouraged to get out there and make a difference in my community, church, family and anywhere

else my influence happens to reach! there is no better way than team leadership, changing the world 1 household at a time! God Bless team leadership and all those not willing to go quietly into the night, but those who will stand up and FIGHT! hats off to the 21st century centurions!!!!!
-Joe

Orrin: You are so right - if we don't try anything, we don't "fail" or succeed - we just stay the same. By failing, we give wings to our ideas - and when we fail, we fortify the wings so on another day, on another try we are smarter and stronger.

Great thoughts to start the week with

Thank you!

Ann

Great article Orrin.
Can not tell you how many times I keep falling, but some how I'm right back up trying it again. It's the never quit that keeps pushing me. Where will it take me next.

I'm reading a Great Article of yours, Archives 30 jun,06 The Perseverance Quotient. Fits right in with your article for today.

BLESSING ALL
Dave GBA

Orrin, I wanted to share my reading in Proverbs this morning that just made me think of you, our leadership and this Team. Proverbs 10:25 "When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more, but the [uncompromisingly] righteous have an everlasting foundation." Thank you for continuing to fall and get back up for our everlasting foundation!

Orrin,

Great article and video! I heard someone say this weekend that "if you want to double your success rate, you need to double your failure rate." (Orrin Woodward quote) Failing is never absent from the successful person. Failure and success go hand in hand. Successful people lose more than the average person because they keep trying. Persistence and the ability to deal with disappointment and often rejection are key characteristics for the successful person.

In their book "Success Built to Last" by authors Jerry Porras, Stewart Emery and Mark Thompson, they call the inevitable stumbles or failures on the way to success, "tripping points". It is these tripping points that successful people “harvest.” They go on to say "“The bad news is that even when you’re doing your best, if you fail at any point, you’ll get harsh reviews. Think of the last time you got good press for bad news. … For much of the journey, innovation is hard work rewarded by bad headlines. "

“This is just one more reason why people hide out from pursuing their full potential to follow their dreams and serve the world. Enduringly successful people aren’t immune. They just tolerate risks, feel the fear, take the brickbats, learn from failure, and do what matters to them anyway.”

Successful people “become more resolute after losing a battle they believe in because they learn from the loss—it gives them a better idea of what matters, what works, and what doesn’t."
(Source: Success Built to Last)

I also heard someone say that "it is easier to go from failure to success, than it is to go from excuses to success." Throughout the course of my leadership journey I have discovered that people are not losers until they start blaming others for their problems or failures. That is because when you blame others for your problems and failures you are wanting someone else to take care of your own problems instead of being responsible for your own actions. I know that might sound somewhat harsh, but it is so true. Follow the PDCA cycle!

The question is where do you fit into the failure equation? Or how do you deal with failure? Read through these two lists and determine which one describes your approach to failure:

LIST 1: Blaming others, repeating the same mistakes, expecting never to fail again, expecting to continually fail, accepting tradition blindly, being limited by past mistakes, thinking I am a failure, quitting.

LIST 2: Taking responsibility, learning from each mistake, knowing failure is a part of progress, maintaining a positive attitude, challenging outdated assumptions, taking new risks, believing something didn’t work, persevering.

In his book "Failing Foward" author John C. Maxwell points out "The 7 Abilities Needed to Fail Forward":

"The Seven Abilities Needed to Fail Forward:
1. Achievers reject rejection. People who don’t give up keep trying because they don’t base their self-esteem on their performance. Take responsibility for your actions, but don’t take failure personally.
2. Achievers see failure as temporary.
3. Achievers see failures as isolated incidents.
4. Achievers keep expectations realistic.
5. Achievers focus on strengths.
6. Achievers vary approaches to achievement. In other words, they keep trying different things until something works for them.
7. Achievers bounce back. They don’t take their mistakes personally." (Source: Failing Forward)

Think of mistakes in a whole new perspective. As you approach your next task, give yourself a reasonable mistake goal. Give yourself a quota and expect to hit it before the project reaches completion. Like John Maxwell says "Remember, mistakes don’t define failure. They are merely the price you pay for achievement on the success journey." It is people’s perception of and response to failures that sets achievers apart from the mediocre.

Thanks Orrin for another great article!

Best,
Matt

"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent in doing nothing". - George Bernard Shaw:

So, what 'something' are we working on today? As Mr. Woodward said, from stage in St. Louis: "We're not looking for perfection, but improvement!"

As I read this there was a song in my head and hopefully, those that read this will not only read the words but hear the music. Here's the chorus:
"I get knocked down but I get up again, ain't never gonna keep me down"
"I get knocked down but I get up again, ain't never gonna keep me down"
"I get knocked down but I get up again, ain't never gonna keep me down"
"I get knocked down but I get up again, ain't never gonna keep me down"
====
And as with some songs, they seem to stay inside our heads for the day. May these words from this song do the same.
Tim P.

Orrin,

Thank you so much for this weekend in Columbus! Your wealth of knowledge is amazing. It was unfortunate that we missed the leading ladies that couldn't make it down due to weather, but there was a reason that things turned out the way they did and I look forward to becoming a leader within TEAM to help thousands achieve their goals by failing thousands of times. I had the pleasure of having lunch with Tim Marks, his son Cam, his training pilot (Andy I believe?), Mike Gowen, and Brad Smith in Florida as he was taking a look at his new house in Florida a few plus months ago. I learned many things about people that weekend, but the greatest thing I learned from that lunch was when I asked Tim "how do you become a leader quickly?" After today's post, I vividly remember his response: "Make alot of mistakes."

This also brings me to John Maxwell's book, "Failing Forward." It's all in what we do after the mistake occurs, do we learn from it, move on and never make the same mistake twice, or do we get depressed?

Thanks for your message this weekend and I look forward to making many more mistakes while we focus on where we are going to, not what we are going through. I also heard you mention that you have RT members come down and visit Port St. Lucie to go fishing or visit the Bahama's, etc. I look forward to the day that my wife and I can help a few other couples become RT members with us and we can enjoy sometime with you, Laurie and your family to learn more about helping more people achieve the success you have been blessed with.

Safe Travels and God Bless,

Kristopher McCrone

Good stuff. I must be doing OK? I've failed at many things. I failed to learn what's important in school, I failed jobs while trying to make a difference in the companies culture that they should look at people as the valued resource, I failed at a 20 year marriage because I was no longer handsome and not rich, I failed to grasp the leadership skills taught by Team, until recently. I got it! I got it all! Everything that has happened to me has lead me to this revelation. God has lead me to this revelation. Finally, after 50 some years of failures, I got it right. God and Team have helped me to finally see. I'm on the right path, with the right people, involved with the right organization, lead by the right leaders. That's why when we met Friday, a hand shake wasn't going to be enough, Orrin. I had to give you a hug. Scripture tells us to greet our brothers with a kiss. You truly are my brother.
Rick in Cincy

Wow. You never see commercials like that on mainstream television now, do you? My teachers never taught me that in school.

What I loved most about the film is that all of the wonderful leaders mentioned became who they were because they defied their critics! That is a huge lesson to learn from our history. Thanks, Orrin for posting that. It is awesome to be reminded that if Lucille Ball, Michael Jordan, Abraham Lincoln & Ulysses S. Grant can ignore thier critics, I can too!

*BBNQ

the first time i was presented with this concept of using failure as a stepping stone to success and a way to destroy fear was from another great leader, david deangelo. his techniques sought completley different results from those of the team leaders. however, that principle of embracing failure and eliminating it as a source of fear that create success in any area of life. weather you are looking to build a business, meet women, speak in public, race cars or do whatever it is you dream to achieve, your true best will only come when you eliminate the fear of failure.

What a good click dude. When you look at people like that, it is hard to think that failing at something in my life should hold me back. He doesn't like me, or people making fun of me for reading, all that should be wood tossed on the fire thats about to ignite my future!!!


-Tyson

Orrin and fellow bloggers,

This afternoon I awoke from my nap. I have to leave soon to work all night. I just had to check the blogs before I left. I went from being in a perfectly good mood to extreme rage very rapidly.

I have sat back for the past 6.5 months and watched the Alticor Media Blog run Orrin Woodward into the ground. I have never left a comment on that site. To be honest, I have not seen any positive information posted there about anything. Negative. Negative. Attack. Attack. Orrin is Terrible. Orrin is Horrible. Orrin stole our cattle. Team is a COMPETING BUSINESS. Orrin has filed dozens, no wait hundreds, no wait billions, yeah BILLIONS of lawsuits, and we have won them all.
Orrin has taken confidential information about how utterly crappy things like retention rate, retailing numbers, and stuff that better stay top secret because if it gets out, THE TRUTH WILL HURT OUR BUSINESS, and he personally posted this top secret information at all the push pin boards at every Wal-Mart in the USA. He even left his blog address on those little strips you can tear off and take with you so you won't forget.

Can you believe this HORRIBLE, EVIL, DESPICABLE excuse for a human being, had the audacity to offer an amicable seperation?
No bad press? No lawsuits? Give people a choice about staying with the newly named AMWAY, after spending years building a business and answering the question, over and over again.

"This isn't AMWAY is it?"
Nope, this is Quixtar.

I asked that very question MYSELF on Aug. 9th when my friend I havn't seen in 20 years showed me the plan.
I did not sign up with AMWAY. HE LIED TO ME. Not on purpose, but then again, he wasn't ON THE BOARD.

Who is gonna take responsibility for the hundreds of thousands of people who asked that same question when, with UNANIMOUS board vote,
the board says "DO NOT CHANGE THE NAME". With one wave of the magic legal wand, you created LIARS.

To bad, to sad, gonna do it anyway. Just tell all those folks that you are a LIAR. They will get over it.

"JUST, GO TEAM"

And we did. That is now Orrin Woodward's fault.
I guess if they would have screamed, "STAY!!!!" and we didn't, that would also be Orrin Woodward's fault
Not a single solitary person told me what to do. Stay or Go.
Heck, I resigned before everyone in my upline did. They were waiting on BONUSES that they EARNED and DIDN'T GET PAID.
NOBODY EVER TOLD ME WHAT TO DO.
If there was a top secret plan, why didn't my good friend I hadn't seen in 20 years say something. PSSSTTT. Don't sign that. You will be locked down for 6 months. Something new and better is right around the corner, so don't sign.
Maybe it was all part of an evil plan to build my character. I am really not sure because my friend apologized profusely to me for dragging me into this mess, and then quit in disgust. I am sorry to inform you all....He DID NOT BLAME ORRIN WOODWARD.

Orrin Woodward put a post on this blog asking people to contribute to the IBO Defense Fund.
I guess due to the short amount of time that I have been around, I haven't quite mastered the THROW YOUR LEADER UNDER THE BUS MOVE.
For those of you newer than me, it is kinda like the atomic leg drop, only much bloodier.
I haven't quite got indoctinated to the "EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF" move, either. Or the TURN YOUR BACK ON THOSE YOU BELIEVE IN, move.

I am sure the entire crowd was snickering at little David. Taking bets on how long he would last. Wondering if he would scream like a little girl in pain.
Until Goliath used his face for a break. Then it wasn't so funny anymore. The snickering probably stopped pretty quickly as the dust slowly rose from beneath that huge dead body.

I also got a funny visual of the EVIL, HORRIBLE Orrin Woodward, sneaking into the "soon to be AMWAY" meeting somewhere, with a fake mustache and eyeglasses, maybe a hat, saying, "Psssst, hey buddy, I got a better deal for ya. Don't mind all the lawsuits, arbitration, the PUBLIC SLANDEROUS COMMENTS on corporate blogs. I gotta way better deal for ya."

Geez.

I don't know if this should even be posted. I don't even have enough time to get something to eat. I was hoping that writing this would calm me down.
Vent a little anger. I don't think it helped.

I can't help but think of the new guy just signing up. Reading all the venom directed at Orrin Woodward. I have heard with my own ears Orrin say he is not perfect. That he makes mistakes.
See what happens when we say you screwed up. This is what happens to ya, kid. Don't ever cross us, or this could be you.
Don't you dare have a thought.
Don't you dare try to change things.
Do exactly what you are told.
Or we will CRUSH you.
And by the way, we are here to support you in building YOUR business YOUR way.

I need a few more hours to get this out of my system.
Good thing I am working nights tonight.
I couldn't sleep if I had to.

More committed than ever.
Ian from Texas

Ian,

I like reading your posts. I didn't know about Alticor Media Blog - so I took a quick peek...& I'll not go back there again. It's sort of like being in an argument with a troll from Daily Kos (I peeked there, once, too...YIKES!!).

I'd politely suggest that you stop reading the garbage there...it'll only infuriate you. I like a good argument as much as the next guy, but remember: our current level of thinking got us to where we are and, if we're gonna' change some things...

...we're gonna' have to change some thinking & habits, too!

Good on ya', buddy! Stay inspired (but not ired).

Love your post, Ian from Texas!

Our 6-month "jail sentence" ends today! FREEEEEEEDOM!!!!!!

Ryan and Carrie :)
Team Braveheart
PS--Thanks, Orrin, for keeping positive on this blog despite the negative directed at you elsewhere. I'm sure it's difficult, but we are all with ya! You are the bigger person and can know that your integrity is intact (which is the most important thing). We are proud to be associated with you and with Team!

Ian,
Hooooooooo Weeeeeeeeee...... Do you see how the MEDIA WAR works.
Way to much time reading cr@p. I'm like you, I like to know what other
paople are thinking, and saying. But remember, GREAT thinks come to
those with TRUTH, HONOR and GOD on our side.

Remember my friend, Its better to give a hands up, not a hand out.
AMERICA - GOD - FREEDOM - TEAM - COMMITTED FOR LIFE

Ian, I really enjoy reading your blogs.
Dave GBA

Ian,
Do Chris's words in his article on Nazi Propaganda sound familiar as you think of the Alticor Media blog: "Perhaps the most dramatic example of this is what occurred under the Third Reich in Germany during World War II. Adolph Hitler is famous for "the Big Lie" theory, which basically involves telling a lie so enormous that nobody would ever believe you would risk making up something so preposterous." I am ashamed to say that when I hear poison or garbage or (to use a more polite term) excrement like that I feel like breaking something or punching someone out. This is what the media war is all about. The truth will overcome in the end and as Jesus said, "The truth will set you free." Keep throwing the truth out there and we will overcome in the end, my friend.
DaveC

I wanted to post a comment to the Alticor Media blog, but I'm trying to be a more positive person. So, I'm not going to go there. Besides; Matthew 7:6 comes to mind.
We have met, but only to shake hands. But - I do know you. You have poured yourself out to us in all the recordings. I know that you are the same person on the recordings that you are in person.
I know this because Chris & Kristen have told me. I believe them and trust them because they have never judged me, have always believed in me, and have served me way beyond anything I could ever deserve. I know that they do this because it is what they have been taught. Thank you - to both you and Laurie, for being such a good example to the people who are an example to me.
Thank you especially for standing up to tyranny on my behalf!

Orrin,
January 29th of this year, I lost my son because he decided to quit on life. He took his own life. He was 27 and would have been 28 tomorrow. I suppose some people might call that a failure on my part as a parent and of course some people did. I did not fail as a parent. Time after time after time I reached out to my son and was rejected. A very dear friend of mine sent this link to me of this video. This may not be the place for this but I'll send it to you anyway.

No matter who out there that blames me for my son's death, I know that I know that I know that it was not my fault. Try and fail and try again. Many sleepless nights when it comes to meeting the needs of our youth. I have been on quite the emotional "roller coaster" even while I attended Friday's Men's Leadership and Saturday's seminar here in Columbus. As for me! Failure is not an option.
Here's the link to the video. And as an added note, the girl fought her way through failure.
Go With God.
Tim P.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWUXHTLH9Dg

Tim,

Please accept my condolences for the death of your child.I know it is a parent's worst fear to out live our children.The circumstances of his death are not known to me.
I know you would have traded your life for his if given the choice.I cannot profess to understand your pain, but only to let you know you and your family are in all of our thoughts and prayers.

May your boy find peace with God.
Daniel Gigante

Thanks Daniel. After watching the video I posted, I sat down with my wife and we watched it together. She understands my pain as well and I do not share this post lightly. Thanks for your prayers. God Bless.
Tim

Tim,
You are showing a quiet strength, just like Tony Dungy in a similar circumstance. Anyone who would blame you is not showing sound thinking.
This last Saturday, I was an adult chaperone at a lock in lock out at our church. The youth group put on the same skit as in the video, and believe me, as powerful as it is in the video, it is exceedingly more powerful in a live performance. God's grace and mercy can overcome any obstacle if only we are willing to accept them.
DaveC

Tim,

I grieve for your loss and am literally weeping at my keyboard after watching the video you posted. I am sorry for this tragedy, and I have posted the You.Tube video on another message board under 'Family, Faith and Community'.

We are, each one of us, in need of much Grace. To any who read this, please remember to cut someone a break today, purely out of your thankfulness for what God has granted each of us...

...you never know who's hurting inside.

Tim P, You are a champion in my book! Very proud of you for your courage and persistence. Keep you head up and God will provide a peace that passes all understanding! Keep growing and changing and thank you for sharing. God Bless, Orrin

Tim,
My heart goes out to you on the untimely death of your son. I'm sure you did what we all do: you lead your child to adulthood and then let go hoping for the best for them. I hope that as time passes and your pain lessens you are able to remember all the good times you had.
Lynn

Fellow, Lady's Bloggers.
Been doing some digging lately. Might want to check on these.
ARCHIVES - 9 Sept,04 - 15 Oct,04 - 12 Dec,04
They go well with this article.
Dave GBA

I love this. My 13 year old daughter is upset because she just found out that won't be getting into Jazz band next year. I am going to have her watch this so she can see what failing really means.