You shouldn’t let all these causes of failure discourage you. Think of it this way: they are like termites. They might be eating away at the foundations of all your efforts but once you know that they are there, you can take measures to eradicate them.
With that little pep talk out of the way, I will share the remainder of Hill’s list of causes of failure. Search them out and, like termites, get rid of them.
21.THE HABIT OF INDISCRIMINATE SPENDING. If you have a tendency to throw your money away, assuming that wanting something is reason enough to buy it, you will never have enough money. Even worse, you will always feel impoverished because there will always be something that you can’t afford or something that you will have to give up in order to buy the latest flat-screen TV or the latest style shoe. You need to form the habit of systematic saving by putting aside a definite percentage of your income and putting off some purchases until you can pay cash for them.
22.LACK OF ENTHUSIASM. Without enthusiasm, you won’t be able to convince anyone to buy your product, your service, or to hire you. Besides that, enthusiasm is contagious and if you have it, without going overboard, you will be welcome in any group of people.
23.INTOLERANCE. Closed minds open few doors. Intolerance means that you have stopped trying to learn. The most damaging forms of intolerance are those of religion , race, sexual preference, and political opinion.
24.INTEMPERANCE. Overindulgence in food, alcohol, drugs or sex can be fatal – both literally and in terms of your career.
25.INABILITY TO COOPERATE WITH OTHERS. This is an umbrella under which many of the other causes of failure hide. If you cannot cooperate with others, it may be because you’ve no come to terms with your own shortcomings. Unfortunately, more people lose their jobs and their opportunities in life because of this than for any other reason. It is said that one bad apple can spoil the whole basket and that is true of cooperation. One person who cannot or will not cooperate can drag down group morale, cohesion, and productivity . Most well-informed employers will not tolerate it.
26.POSSESSION OF POWER THAT WAS NOT ACQUIRED THROUGH SELF EFFORT. If you’ve ever had to work under the boss’s son or daughter, you probably know what I mean. Power, in the form of positions of authority gained through nepotism or of inherited money, that is not acquired gradually is often fatal to success. QUICK RICHES, ironically, can be more dangerous than poverty. Just ask someone who won a big lottery a few years earlier.
27.INTENTIONAL DISHONESTY. You may have committed a dishonest act because of circumstances beyond your control, but if you do it continually and intentionally, it will eventually catch up with you. Loss of reputation, good will, and perhaps even freedom result when your customers, your employers, or you friends find out that you have been intentionally dishonest with them.
28.EGOTISM AND VANITY. These are warning signs that signal others to stay away. In the long run, they are fatal to success.
29.GUESSING INSTEAD OF THINKING. Sherlock Holmes wouldn’t tolerate this and neither will many employers. If you are too indifferent or too lazy to gather FACTS with which to THINK ACCURATELY, if you prefer to depend upon guesswork developed on the basis of “hunches” or your “opinions”, you will jeopardize your chances for success.
30.LACK OF CAPITAL. Unfortunately, this is a common cause of failure for those who start out in business for the first time, or for those who have to start over after a period of unemployment. Lack of sufficient capital to absorb the shock of mistakes and to carry you over until you are established cansabotage your efforts and your success.
The aphorism “Know thyself” is one of the oldest of admonitions, but it is still necessary. Trying to ignore your shortcomings is like ignoring those termites until they bring your house down around your ears.
On the other, more positive, hand it is important to know your strengths so that you can call attention to them in your efforts to sell your product, your service, or your skills and talents. You can only know yourself through accurate and honest self-examination.
Once you’ve finished evaluating yourself, or listening carefully and without rancor when a friend or loved one has done the evaluation for you, there are some questions to ask yourself. But we’ll talk about those next time.
Sara Dillinger is a Baby Boomer herself and a newbie internet entrepreneur focusing on the Baby Boomer generation because she spent sixteen years serving as pastor in United Methodist congregations all over Kansas. Those congregations were made up primarily of Baby Boomer or older members, so Sara has developed some expertise with the Baby Boomer generation. Sara is now on leave of absence and living in Atchison, Ks. with her almost-thirty year old son and two cats. She also helps her daughter, also living in Atchison, with three sons, ages 8, 6, and 1, while their father is in Afghanistan. Her blogs are found at http://www.for-boomers.com .