Do This One Thing and You Will Find Success

Can there really be one thing you can do to find success?

Yes!  There are no guarantees in life.  Still, do this one thing, and you will improve your chance of succeeding.

Have you applied for a specialized position and didn’t get it?

Were you a candidate for promotion and someone else was selected?

Did you want to go to the FBINA and didn’t get the opportunity?

Were you a police chief candidate and failed to make the cut?

Most of us that have been working for any length of time will answer yes to many of these questions and many other similar questions. 

Life is full of challenges and disappointments.  What can you do to find success when success is so elusive?

Don’t Quit! 

It is that simple.  Keep trying.  Don’t give up.  Get back in the game.  Get off the bench.  Work harder. 

You get the picture.

I realize this is easier said than done. You see, I know from personal experience.  I was a candidate for police chief on three occasions before I was finally selected to be the Chief of Police for the Dunwoody Police Department.

What keeps people from getting back up after being knocked down again and again? 

Here are four obstacles standing in your way.

Failing to Understand That Failure is Part of Life

I’m not suggesting that you should think you are going to fail, far from it.  What I am suggesting is that you must realize that failure is part of life and happens to all of us.  The sooner you realize this truth, the quicker you will be able to move on.

John Maxwell said, “Failure is not the opposite of success; it is part of success.”

In other words, you will likely not achieve success without some failures along the way. 

It is easy to see successful people on TV, in business or even in law enforcement and not realize that their path to success was likely paved with failures. 

Most people probably do not realize that Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.  He ran home and cried.

It is hard to imagine his colossal failure, but it is true, and that is the point.

Everyone fails.  Failure is just part of life. 

Never forget this truth. 

Failing to Get Over Disappointment

For many people, the disappointment of not being selected becomes a focus of their life.  They can’t move on or get beyond it.  They become angry.  This anger leads to resentment.  Once that happens, the anger interferes with work and ultimately becomes a barrier to future success.

I remember a situation a few years ago that clearly illustrates this point.  Fifteen officers competed for an open sergeant position.  I selected the candidate I thought was best suited and qualified for that position.

One of the candidates had a difficult time accepting the fact that he wasn’t selected.  His disappointment became his focal point, and this disappointment affected his job performance.  Eventually, this disappointment cost him an opportunity for promotion when the next sergeant position became available unexpectedly a few months later.  He was highly qualified but became unqualified because he failed to get over his disappointment.

Related Post: Climb the Mountain of Failure to Find Success

This illustration is from an internal candidate, but this type of disappointment can affect people when they are seeking opportunities outside their department as well.

In fact, many people give up trying after the first failure and especially after repeated disappointments.

A few years ago, a police chief candidate applied for several police chief jobs and was a finalist on several occasions.  Unfortunately, this candidate wasn’t selected for any of the opportunities.  The repeated disappointment of getting so close and not being selected weighed heavily on the shoulders of this candidate.  The weight was so heavy the candidate decided to quit trying; to give up.

I asked this police chief candidate this question.  Do you still want to be a police chief?  The answer was yes. 

I then encouraged this aspiring police chief to continue chasing this dream and not to give up. 

Fortunately, this person did just that and is a police chief today!

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Don’t give up!

Failing to Understand Why You Didn’t Get Selected

If you were not selected for an assignment, training opportunity, promotion, appointment or a myriad of other things, it is important to understand why you were not selected.

Just getting over or beyond the disappointment is not enough.  If that is all you do, you will likely just be disappointed again.  Instead, take the time to understand why.

Why you were not chosen is the key ingredient to future success.

I have seen this happen too many times.  Instead of looking inward when faced with disappointment, people tend to look outward; to blame others.

If we are not careful, disappointment can turn you into a victim.

It is easy to blame others for your failures, but that point of view will not help you succeed in your next attempt.

Rather than blame others, take an objective view of the situation and circumstances that led you to this disappointment.  You might find that some people or circumstances deserve some blame or you might find that there are things you can change to improve your chances in the future.

One key way to conduct this objective review is to talk to the actual decision maker that led to your disappointment.  For promotion, this will likely be the chief or sheriff.  For some special assignment, it might be the deputy chief or major.  For other opportunities, it would be the person that either recommends or makes the decision. 

In all of my years as a decision maker in law enforcement, only a handful of people have approached me and asked for me to give them feedback on why they weren’t promoted, selected for an assignment, or chosen for a special project.

For those that asked, I gave them honest feedback intended to help them succeed in the future.  Some of those I spoke with listened and made the changes necessary for success.  Others failed to make the changes and continued down the same path, making the same mistakes.

I remember a particular sergeant candidate that had interviewed for promotion several times.  This candidate couldn’t understand the failure to get promoted.  However, all of the supervisors in this candidate’s chain of command knew the reason, but no one had shared this reason with the candidate. 

Finally, the sergeant candidate asked me for feedback on how he or she could be a better candidate in the future.  If I repeated what I told this candidate, you might think I was harsh.  Yet, the sergeant candidate needed to hear the truth.

As a result, this candidate was promoted to sergeant a few years later.

Ask for feedback, make adjustments and you will improve your chances of future success.

Failing to Try Again

If you understand that failure is part of life, and can get past your disappointment, and understand why you failed but never try again, all of your hard work is for nothing.

Failure is a part of life.  All great leaders have failed at some point in their life.  It is easy to look at successful leaders and not know or acknowledge they faced many challenges along the way.

As I previously mentioned, I applied for three police chief jobs before I was finally selected as the Chief of Police for the Dunwoody Police Department.  Yet, those opportunities were not my only failures or disappointments in my career.

I assessed for promotion approximately eight times and did not get selected.  I applied to go to the FBINA, and someone else was selected.  I applied for several specialized assignments over the years and was turned down more often than I was selected.

The point is if you give up, your failure has gotten the best of you, and you will never succeed. 

Conclusion

By now, I hope you agree with me and understand that you must be deliberate to overcome failure and move toward success.

It doesn’t happen by accident.

History is filled with highly successful people who failed on an epic scale.  Imagine not having the benefit of the work of J.K. Rowling, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Bratton, Chuck Ramsey, and many others. 

Each of these individuals made significant contributions to society.  What if they had given up? 

Society would be worse off for sure.

Understand that failure is part of life.  Move beyond your disappointment.  Understand why the failure happened so you can improve your chances of success in the future.

Try again.  Get back in the fight.

If you can do these four things, I am confident you have a bright future and success is only the next opportunity away.