How You Can Avoid Personal Failure

Business Problems are Personal Problems

After 25 years of working with organizations I’ve realized, I’ve never helped solved a business problem that didn’t have a personal problem at it’s root. Hidden inside of any business problem is a personal constraint. If you can remove the constraint, that problem usually solves itself. Understanding this principle, helps you tackle the spider instead of getting tangled in the web. Your business problems are probably a symptom of some personal issue. Solve that and life becomes much easier!

I just pulled out Napoleon Hill’s 17 Keys to Success. He mentioned 25 major causes of personal failure:

The habit of drifting through life without a major definite purpose
Meddlesome curiosity about other people’s affairs
Inadequate education
Lack of self discipline
Lack of ambition
Ill health due to negative thinking or poor diet
Unfavorable childhood influences
Lack of persistence and follow through
Negative mental attitude
Lack of emotional control
The desire to get something for nothing
Failure to reach decisions promptly
One of more of the 7 basic fears: poverty, criticism, ill health, loss of love, old age, loss of liberty, death
Poor selection of a spouse
Over caution or lack of caution
Poor choice of a vocation
Indiscriminate spending of time and money
Lack of control of the tongue
Intolerance
Failure to Cooperate with others in a spirit of harmony
Disloyalty
Lack of vision or imagination
Egotism and vanity
Desire for revenge
Unwillingness to go the extra mile

Deal With The Root Not The Fruit

You’ll find one of these 25 personal problems at the root of any business problem you have. If you’ve got problems, stop playing with the fruit of the issue and deal with the root. You always grow from the inside out. If you can conquer the inside, the outside generally takes care of itself. When you get better, your business gets better!