Are you a success or a failure??

11. March 2010 by admin.

Let’s look at this quote:

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed” Quote from Michael Jordan.

Field Goals - 12192 Field Goals Attempted - 24537
Three Pointers - 581 Three Pointers Attempted - 1778

The above are just a few of the stats of Michael Jordan. Do you consider him a success or a failure? I mean, after all, he made less than half the shots he attempted. And he only made .327 percent of his three-point attempts. Is he still a failure or a success? When one looks at things this way, you could say that he’s a failure, right?
Well, most of us know who Michael Jordan is and it could be argued that he just might be the best basketball player to ever grace the court. So, where I’m a going with this?

Well, as a student, you face failure everyday….or at least you think you do. You think that not passing that test is a failure, or missing a word here and there, or dropping is a failure. Why is that? Is the culture such that we only look at the negative? Are we programmed to think that way? Perhaps so.

But everyone that has graduated from school or gone on to pass the required exams and become reporters were all in the same position that each one of you were at some point in the beginning of their start in this program. Everyone. I doubt that you will find a reporter that passed every single test they took, never dropped a word, or couldn’t read something back in class. If you do, I’d love to meet them.

So, are we failures here or are we success? My schooling was just as difficult as it has been for many of you. Others have had the same difficulty. I know some reporters that got out of school quickly, and, I know some reporters that didn’t get out so quickly. Are they failures or success stories. It took me three and a half years to get out of school. Does that mean I’m a failure? Some could say that I was. But, I push myself to keep on top of the technology and to improve myself all the time. I know others that were so gifted that they got out in sometimes around a year or just a little over a year. Are they a success? Some of those same reporters are probably scared to death to write a realtime job. Does that make them a failure? But wait, they got out of school quickly. I didn’t get out quickly and I’ve done just about all that a reporter can do. Does that now mean I’m a success? But wait, it took me longer to get out of school.

See where this is going? It’s all in the perspective of how you view your success in school and it’s also about not viewing yourself as a failure. Sure, you’re gonna miss tests. Michael Jordan missed shots….shots that could have won the game for his team. Maybe he failed at that particulare moment, but the next game, when it mattered, he was right there again looking for that shot. So, if he can do it in that arean, why can’t you? You put that test behind you. You put that bad day behind you and you “take that shot” the next time it comes up. Your failures will make you a better reporter in the long haul because you can take from your failure and learn from it and become a success.

After Michael failed to win the game, I’m sure he didn’t sit around and sulk and get depressed. I would bet that he probably took what he had learned and applied it to the next game. You should take this same example and apply it to the next test. Did you miss one or two words on the test and fail? Did you miss 10 words and fail? Well, so be it…..that test has come and gone and the only thing you can do about it is learn from that test/mistake and apply it forward so that when the next test comes along, you’re ready for it.

There are a very select few in this country that can do what we do. You’re part of that select few. Once you realize that you are part of that few, then, and only then, will you realize that you can do this. And by doing this, you will become a success. When you look back on where you’ve come from and to where you are now, how do you view it? Success or failure? I say that you’re all a success! You’re a success because you CAN do this and you CAN make it through this program. Sure, it is going to be hard. It was hard for Michael Jordan. He made it look easy because he worked his tail off behind the scenes, I’m sure. That’s why he became the success he is.

So….Prepare…..Commit….and succeed and don’t beat yourself up because you’ve failed. You didn’t fail. You’ve succeeded and you succeed each day as you go through this thing called life.
Hang in there. You can do it.
I believe in you!
(tipping hat)

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