My wife and I had a hard time getting pregnant. I’ll bring this around before you get too concerned, so bear with me.
It took 5 years of challenges, struggles, more than a few hormonally induced arguments and a lot of libido draining calendar observation that lead to even more failure. It took drugs, needles, timing and small, sterile, intimidating cups. I have seen my wife in stirrups more times than I think anybody should have to be in stirrups. I have since learned that this is common practice for women visiting doctors.
I am so glad I am a man.
My wife went through whole new kinds of embarrassment dealing with friends and relatives asking questions that neither of us felt OK answering. We finally decided to adopt and >poof, we are pregnant and the kid stuck around.
My son is a great kid. Totally worth the wait. And the challenges. And the so called failure.
As you may already know, challenges in business and procreation are experienced by a wide range of people. It may even surprise you that many people rarely speak of these issues. Maybe because it is similar to talking to people about life insurance. Lucky for you, I am an open book that arguably talks too much. All of this failure can be daunting. Does it really need to be?
You see, while we were busy failing to get pregnant, I was busy starting another business, Calls On Call. And then I sold a business, Doc Jams Printer Repair. And then I started yet another business, Draw In Customers Business Coaching. While I was failing to create human life, I did succeed at creating a couple businesses that helped other people succeed. It turns out some of these business owners created human life during these years. I will not take direct credit for any of that. Find out what happens when you find yourself not working all of the time.
These businesses and this child was not planned to happen in this sequence. After looking back at those now 7+ years, did we fail? Some would say yes. We planned to get pregnant so that my wife could enjoy the summer with our newborn child. This kid was unable to read a calendar, so he showed up 5 years later, in December. So we did not directly succeed at what we planned.
However you could challenge this by claiming that 2 new businesses came about because of this failure. It has even occurred to me that both Calls On Call as well as Draw In Customers were designed so that both myself and my clients could enjoy more time with their families.
Our failure lead to our success. I would not have it any other way.
Could we have predicted this is where we would be 7 years from now? Look back at your life 7 years ago. Is this where you expected to be? Do you consider yourself a failure? Or did you find success in ways you did not realize were even options back then.
The truth is that what we want is rarely exactly what we get. What we get is often more and better than what we originally wanted. Life is funny that way. It just so happens that in both business and human life creation you can make all sorts of odd things happen in your life. The beauty is in the journey.
I truly hope you have found success. If you have not, my challenge to you is to change your perspective and continue to take the actions to achieve what you desire. What you have now is more than you would have dreamed of having just a few short years ago. The success you find will follow a similar path. You have no idea what awesome results you are about to receive.
James is a Business Coach and Mentor for Draw In Customers Business Coaching in Madison, Wisconsin. When he isn’t chasing his son, he helps others achieve success in business and beyond. He blogs successfully to the world at www.drawincustomers.com. If you are considering hiring a business coach, take a moment to call James at (608)210-2221. Embrace success, appreciate failure.
