Rob Moshe

 Photo by Julia Breckenreid

We all make mistakes.

It’s part of the process of being human. There is no such thing in our history as a person that didn’t make any mistakes.

When we are in a state of joy, we are able to function at peak levels of mental and physical performance.

When we become aware of the mistakes we make we can often become filled with guilt and remorse. Though it is OK to feel this way as an impetus for changing our ways. It is not healthy when we stay in this mental state. Guilt and sadness cause us to be dysfunctional mentally and physically.

It is often said that there is no success without failure.That being said in order to succeed you must be able to move past your mistakes. You have to have the courage to learn from the mistake and then move on.

In Judaism there is a 4 step process of repentance the idea is that once you go through the process you can move forward with an open mind and heart.

I feel the approach can be beneficial regardless of your belief system.

The 4 Step Process:

Step 1- Regret. This is where you have the opportunity to realize the impacts of your action, the frustration,
damage or negative impact that you caused. At this point it is good if you feel sadness/frustration
for your mistake. Before you move on to the next step make sure you have really internalized the
mistake, and that your regret is sincere.

Step 2- Confession. Verbally state the mistake that you made. Don’t be vague about it either. The
more articulate you can be the greater your ability to be truly aware of your
mistake and to avoid making the same mistake again.

Step 3- Forgiveness. Again this is something that you speak out loud. If you beleive in a higher
reality that is involved in your life then you can ask that essence for forgiveness.
If the mistake you made was against another person, you should ask that person for
forgiveness. And yes, you should also ask your self for forgiveness. Receiving
forgiveness from others and forgiving yourself is a message that you should let
the mistake move from your present to your past and begin the process of
moving courageously forward.

Step 4 – Resolution.  This is where you make a firm commitment not to repeat the mistake in the future.
Again this should be a verbal commitment. When you speak something out loud you give
it substance. It engraves itself in your mind and our heart.

At this point you have to take the courageous step, and Let It Go.

You have dealt with the issue and now it is time to move forward towards success. It is time to clear your mind of sadness and frustration and return to your positive mental state.

All the best,

Rob

Many popular products have come from mistakes.

Crazy Glue- Failed attempt at making a glue to stick people back together during the Vietnam war.

Post-it-notes – Failed attempt at making a permanent super glue.

Reeses Peanutbutter Cups – The chocolate didn’t look where it was going and ran into the peanut.

Most successful business people – Their Read the rest of this entry »

This past week I began working on a new project which I am very excited about. It is a site that will be focused on growing the Professional Coaching field.
Initially I was going to build it in the framework of a multi-user blog, but then found a seemingly impressive open source content management system called Joomla.
Being excited and impatient and not taking the time to design the complete process, I immediately downloaded the software and began teaching myself how to use the system.
Yesterday it hit me, that in the past week I had numerous thoughts to blog about, but had not posted a single thing. In fact I was so focused on playing with Joomla that I didn’t take the time to write down the thoughts so I could blog on them later.

Now I could justify that there is the big picture of this great new project that is worthy of my focus, but the truth is that after 5 days, though I know much more about how the interface works, I am far from being able to complete the basics. Even with my ability to learn quickly, at this pace it will be weeks before I am done.

Fortunately I had my AhHa, and have stopped working on the area that doesn’t need me, and returned to the place that doesn’t happen without me.

I have smartened up and am now looking for a developer that will probably be able to accomplish the task in a day or so.

My mistake:
I indulged one of my old habits of doing everything myself, due to lack of patience and misperceived cost savings, and the belief that I always do it best (no matter what it is). I also assume that because I am working nonstop I am being very efficient.

My lesson learned:
When I indulge these old habits I end up being highly ineffective. I spread myself over a number of tasks that I am mediocre at, and there for pull myself away from the tasks that are my strong points and give me the greatest return for the effort. It doesn’t save me any money. In fact the amount of money wasted in the past week will far surpass the amount that it will cost me to hire a developer on Elance, who will finish the task in a few hours.

Forward Focus:
Five minutes of planning, can save days of time wasted. Next time I am ignited by an exciting idea I will take a few minutes to set an effective strategy on how to approach the project, and realize where I will create the most value and where I should be outsourcing.

Next week is looking great…