By Younas Chaudhary
Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
Thomas Edison, Inventor
In the mid-1980’s, oil prices fell to $8 a barrel. Some people in the oil business panicked and left it quickly, though I stayed the course. I struggled but rode it out through perseverance, consistency, cutting costs, and bartering deals to survive. Luckily, few months later oil prices rebounded and I started making profits.
In moments of panic, take a deep breath, use common sense, reduce your costs, and learn to persevere instead of looking for the easy way out. I know it is hard and it takes guts. But, if you are truly passionate about achieving positive goals in life, be consistent and just stay the course. Control your costs, make changes, work hard, and you will overcome most challenges in life and in business.
Do not listen to people who tell you to fail fast and fail more until you succeed. We should never plan to fail in anything in life. Some people encourage start-ups to keep failing. This is terrible advice and the incorrect approach, especially if you are using other people’s money. Making a habit of failing when using investors’ money is bad and improper at its core.
You should have the common sense to pause, analyze, watch costs, and exit quickly if you know you are failing. Failing fast is not a good option even though certain business schools and entrepreneurs encourage youngsters to fail many times. Honestly, it is a waste of time, playing with your own moral values and resources because you are not using sound planning and common sense.
Consistency and perseverance are keys to stay on track even as people give you advice to quit a hard task. We should spend more time pre-planning and look at scenarios on how to stay the course. We have heard the familiar phrase “build it as you go” but that requires an intensity to keep going for a long time because you are always making something better.
Perseverance plays an important role in life and in business. I used to spend long hours in oil fields trying to learn the business and to grasp the basics. A task that took eight hours for me to complete in the early days, can now sometimes be done in 30 minutes. The only reason is that I invested lot of my time and was patient. There are no short cuts to success in business and if you have a good team and are willing to toil long hours, success will eventually be yours.
If you are ready to persevere and achieve what you want in life, it is important that your family backs you up. I was fortunate that my wife gave me 100 percent support while I spent days and weeks in the oilfields away from home. Her dedication, patience, and sacrifice helped me reach where I am today. I owe my successes to her. Stay Blessed.
Disclaimer
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article are my own and do not represent the opinions of any entity with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated. Further, I make no warranty regarding the accuracy or effectiveness of my recommendations, and readers are advised to consult other advisors as well as their own judgments in making business decisions.
YBC Foundation 