Today I recieved my results for my first Maths AS exam. I have been struggling a lot with the Maths and therefore revised a lot before the exam. I got the worse you can possibly get, a U.

Now, in answer to my question… most people would say YES. Yes, I did terrible, but did I fail?

When I started Maths, our teacher asked the class how we learn. When it got to me, I said “By making as many mistakes as possible”. I did not let him down, I make a lot of mistakes EVERY lesson! But each time I make the mistake, if I am able to work out where I went wrong… well, next time I am unlikely to repeat the mistake.

I have the option to resit this exam. Next time hopefully I will do better. But the only reason I will do better is because I will see where I went wrong this time and try to correct myself next time.

So is it really a fail? Surely, in theory, by getting so low this time I will learn where I went wrong and do better next time than if I had passed this time?

No… I made mistakes, but mistakes can be avoided next time. So no, I did not fail, I just took longer to get the result than it should have taken. But just because something takes longer than it should does not mean it is a bad thing. Remember the hare and the tortoise?

Have you made many mistakes in the past? I am sure you did, if not… well, the time will come! Hopefully you learned from your mistakes and avoided any repetition.

As Paul Sabaj said in yesterday’s post, journals/notebooks are REALLY important! Make a record of your mistakes, review them often and avoid them in the future.

Now I am going to take a look at people who have openly admitted their mistakes and have shared what their mistakes have taught them!

1. Sir Richard Branson
   

   If you have ever read any of Sir Richard’s books (which I highly recommend) then you will know what I am talking about. In 1971 (when he was a mere 19 years old) Sir Richard made the biggest mistake of his life. In fact, it was brought up by Liberal Democrat MP Vince Cable in the House of Commons during Virgin’s bid for Northern Rock (a British bank).

   This extract from Virgin.com will explain Sir Richard’s mistake and the lessons it taught him.

   When I was 19 and running our record mail order service I stumbled on the fact that records bought in Great Britain intended for export were not subject to purchase tax. I bought the records I needed, pretended they were for export, and then sold them to British customers. I was caught red-handed by HM Customs & Excise and put in a cell overnight. Naturally I agreed to pay back everything and the fines imposed and avoided a criminal record. It nearly killed off my entrepreneurial dreams; thankfully it didn’t. But it did teach me a hard lesson about never doing anything illegal or unethical again.

2. Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan
   
   These are a couple of entrepreneurs that I did not learn about until researching today for this post but plan to research more about… they seem to be doing very well!

   Rather than just rewriting what I have read already, here is what USA Today wrote about them.

   In 2000, two roommates had a brainstorm: eco-friendly cleaning products. They whipped up some samples in their bathtub and handed them out to friends. Method was born. The company in 2008 reached $100 million in sales and is sold in retail outlets such as Target.

   Money mistake. “As an entrepreneur, you just feel a desire to just grow, grow, grow and show top-line (increases),” Ryan says. “Sometimes it leads you astray.”

   After the founders expanded their brand into the car-cleaning marketplace with a product called Vroom, they realized they moved a bit too fast.

   “We ultimately ended up selling the line (to another company), but it was a big distraction from our business at the time,” Ryan says. “There are times that you need to preserve fuel and be careful about how many growth opportunities you pursue, because you burn capital.”

   Savvy move. “Hiring a CEO as our first employee was one of the best money moves we made,” Lowry says.

   The more-experienced Alastair Dorward helped the founders make better management and financial decisions. Dorward had the acumen “to grow smart rather than just grow fast,” Lowry says.

3. Shane Hudson
   
   Now it is time for a couple of my own mistakes. My problem is that I trust far too easily! An example of this would be the sale behind Lonely Designs. If you have not read it already then it may be a post that will interest you. Here is an extract from it:

   Now I need to let you know an important fact. I had been using NamePros since august of the year before and I had got a “friend” to join it. He was loving it there and making a lot of money but did not have paypal, so he asked me if I could transfer some money he had earned from paypal to namepros (NP dollars). Of course I thought nothing wrong with this. The amount of money that I transferred was $150. Remember that!
   [...]
   As you probably guessed, the end was not far away. I needed money and the site was going nowhere, I needed to sell. I decided to sell it on NamePros Live Auction, and it sold for $155. This was no where near what I was hoping for, but I sold anyway. They sent me the $155 and paypal took $150 of it!! After investigating I found out that the “friend” I helped had actually scammed the money! I was not happy at all with them taking the money and I tried to find him, but he had disappeared . So I let them take the money as there was nothing I could do, and I felt sorry for them as I do not like scammers. But this left me with $5, not even enough to cover the logo! I lost a lot of money from this but it was worth it, as I learned so many things from it. Including how to blog properly!

As you can see, failure can often lead to success. So, you never know, by needing to resit my maths exam I may learn a lot more about maths which will help in the future (I plan to do a Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence degree, so maths is rather useful)!

If you would like to submit your own story or that of somebody else, please comment here or email Shane [at] Shane Hudson [dot] net with the title of “Story for Did I Fail Post”.

This is a guest post by Paul Sabaj, a loyal reader of Success Circuit. He has previously written success at any age is great.

I found the title for this post in a fortune cookie the other day. I thought what a profound statement to who ever the author was. I know it’s been around for a while and the more I read of other people’s success I can’t help but think that this played a major role in their development. The meek shall inherit the earth but only what’s left behind by those who were bold and went after the prize. So many people loose site of their goals and dreams that they accept the status quo as the norm and fail to do anything to help their selves. It’s easy to fall into a routine and not be motivated.

Being bold is what drove you to that first date where you finally asked the girl out. I remember a friend who was with me in a bar and wanted to ask a beautiful girl to dance. I told him to get out of his chair and ask the girl before I did. He would refuse to go so I did. Well she shot me down and my friend was beaming with delight. He said how does it feel to get shot down mister get up and ask. My reply was I felt great. I had closure and he would never know if she could have been the right one. It was one of many long nights to find the future Mrs. Right. My point being I never gave up on the chase and I did find her.

When you read the biography of those who have made it they all had some common traits that need to be part of your make up. Like Tony Robbins say “success leaves a trail” and all we have to do is follow it. Kind of like a recipe, you model what some successful person has done and you should be able to do the same. It also saves going to that school of hard knocks we have heard so much about by our parents and friends.

Being bold is about doing the work, the follow up, networking and the research for what ever you so desire. But the main thing is to start. I had written that success can come at any age. It is that first step that’s the hardest and overcoming the fear of failure. Fortune favors the bold. It has quite a ring to it. When you also look at the list of success stories they all also had some failures in their past but learned from the experience and moved on to great things. Moving beyond failure require you to be bold and of a strong self worth and spirit.

When you look at some of the people who are on shows like American Idol or Britton Has Talent you have to admire the spirit of the competitor and they are going for the brass ring. Maybe that’s why the shows are such a hit because we envy and wish deep down that we all had the courage to chase the dream and go for the gold like they have. Let this be your year to dust the dreams off and start you race for the gold. Be bold and passionate about what ever your hearts desire is. Stay away from the dream stealers and those who would offer up advice even though they are not where they want to be. Misery loves company and will do a lot to keep you with it. Surround yourself with the positive people who can share in your dream and you in theirs.

Were all in the run for the prize so give all the help you can along the way and it will return ten fold. Like Tony Robbins says at the end of his tapes” live with passion” and have a great year. P.S. Be BOLD

This is a guest post by Paul Sabaj, a loyal reader of Success Circuit. He has previously written Goals and Success.

I love reading the posts in Success Circuit and find the stories fun, inspiring and motivating. I also notice that the theme tends to run to the young at heart. I just wanted to remind people that success can come at any age as long as you’re willing. While I love reading of the person who is under thirty I am also impressed with those like Ben Franklin who did a lot of what he is famous for after the age of forty. Men like Ray Kroc of McDonald’s fame started at fifty two years of age when he found the McDonald brothers hamburger stand in California and bought the license to franchise the whole deal for I think two million dollars.
The author Tom Clancy who was an insurance salesman who loved to dabble in writing did not get published until he was in his late thirties.
I also like the story of Col. Sanders of Kentucky fried Chicken fame, who then went on the road to pitch his famous chicken at 65 years of age because he thought his Social Security check was way too small to live on. I can go on and on with the stories of people, but I think they have a common theme to all of them. These people were not just going to settle for the status quo and let life and what turned out to also be fame pass them by. The guts to face a challenge and the ability to get over the fear that often keeps people from moving forward is to be admired. The old saying”The other side of fear is freedom.
You go through it on a small scale when you ask that girl out on your first date. Then once you have done it you realize it was not so bad. Ok if she says no it sucks but you get over it and move on!

One of my favorite stories I have read is about a woman who had a recent movie about her life is Julia Child. What a life story. Born in 1912 one of three siblings who during WW2 worked for the O.S.S. and on to work in the Foreign Service. While in Paris she attends the famous Cordon Bleu and starts a cooking school. She published her first cook book in 1961 at the age of 49 and went on to be the first real cook star of T.V. She did not get on T.V. until she was in her fifties. What a life and what a shining example of what you can do when you persevere and live life with passion.

One of the things I have read from Tony Robbins is “your never too old to be who you might have been.” My second thing that helps point the way is “Why not me!”
So not unlike many diets I have gone on I have said that this is the year for the old dog to learn new tricks and get moving. The difference this time is I have a plan and have told people about it to keep me honest with my endeavors. The other day I told one of the mentors I have of my plan and said I was waiting for the right time. His reply was starting a business and the road to success is like having kids. If you wait for the right time you will never have kids. Get started today. Good advice from a guy who came to America fifteen years ago from Greece and now is a multi millionaire. Good luck to all who try for your at least in the game.

How many times do I have to say it?! Success is not about money. Money is just a (albeit nice) bonus of Success.

Why do I mention this? Well, Success Circuit is meant to be about helping you to define what success is, see other peoples success and reach your own. People have mentioned to me that I am straying from this subject. Well, that may be the case but I believe that all the posts are somehow linked… so shortly I shall be adding a section to each new post (and maybe the old ones) explaning how it relates to success. However, as I do value everybody’s opinion I will try to focus more on writing about success.

Now, back to the title. Success is not about money, money is just a bonus of success. Read it. And again. And again! Ingrain that quote into your head.

“Success is not about money, money is just a bonus of success.”

Shane Hudson

Do you agree? Not everybody does. But I believe that if you go into anything with the mindset of making money, you will just lose money. Indeed, if you are making money and change your mindset while you are successful you will probably lose your success. Infact… not only would you lose your success, you would lose people’s respect and your reputation!

Remember one of the simplest quotes ever? Money does not bring happiness.

I asked Nicholas Cardot from sitesketch101.com about his opinion of my quotation (as I know he does not 100% agree with it, and was one of the people I mentioned earlier) and he gave a great answer through Skype which I wish I had recorded. Basically, he said that he wants to make money from blogging but also wants to help people. Therefore, he makes money while giving people great value products that helps them.

That I believe is fine, as long as helping people is the top priority. Though of course I do understand the fact that we all need money to live.

What is your opinion about this? Do you agree with me, or not? If not let me know… I won’t bite!!

UPDATE (10 minutes after posting!):

Nicholas Cardot: How much money do you make on Success Circuit?
Shane Hudson: I do not make money on Success Circuit
Nicholas Cardot: So then is that article a result of truth or the result of your disgruntled feelings for those who are making money on their sites? Sort of a justification to yourself for why your not making money?
Shane Hudson: uh.. no but very interesting view :)
Nicholas Cardot: So what is success to you?
Nicholas Cardot: Pageviews?
Nicholas Cardot: Connections?
Shane Hudson: Helping people
Nicholas Cardot: Readers?
Shane Hudson: no, dont care about stats
Nicholas Cardot: You can’t feed your family on ‘helping people.’
Jordan Cooper: if success means helping people, then why do you want us to RT, comment and share your stuff?
Shane Hudson: so that other people can read it and be helped?
Shane Hudson: lol I agree with you.. no need for an argument :P
Nicholas Cardot: There’s nothing wrong with trying to be rewarded for providing great value.
Jordan Cooper: Shane, why aren’t you out helping people then? quit blogging, you can help others WITHOUT a blog
Nicholas Cardot: Are you helping people? I mean really? Are you doing something that really makes a difference to people?
Shane Hudson: No I agree Nicholas… you are one of the people that gives value therefore deserve the rewards. Some bloggers write purely for the money
Jordan Cooper: I think almost all of us do
Shane Hudson: what, give value or write for the money?
Jordan Cooper: money
Jordan Cooper: you can’t look at things from extremes though
Jordan Cooper: I enjoy helping people, I really do… but seriously, I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t make money doing so
Shane Hudson: fair enough
Jordan Cooper: admitting that to yourself is paramount to keeping the things you do truly authentic
Shane Hudson: Thats a bit like going to a job interview and being asked “why do you want to work here” and replying with “its good money” lol
Shane Hudson: but I understand
Jordan Cooper: yeah… but I’ve actually said that in job interviews
Shane Hudson: really? did they accept you?
Jordan Cooper: yeah
Shane Hudson: wow :)
Jordan Cooper: because being that honest gets you mad respect
Shane Hudson: Yes that is true

As you can see, there are many different views about this. Especially due to the fact that there are different levels of success and of wanting/needing money.

If you are interested in finding out more about these amazing people I speak to on Skype, they are Nicholas Cardot from sitesketch101.com and Jordan Cooper from Not A Pro Blog. Their views are extremely valuable and I hope you can decide on your own view from reading through ours.

There are a lot of successful readers of Success Circuit and that is something I have always been proud of (and no, I am not talking about the big named “stars” that sometimes read Success Circuit, I am talking about YOU). However, today was the first time I realised that other people took notice of the other readers here at Success Circuit. I received an email from Scott Gerber a young entrepreneur columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine and founder of AskGerber.com which I believe is scheduled for launch during the Spring. The email had some information about AskGerber but what interested me the most (though AG sounds like an amazing website) was a book he is writing.

‘Never Get A Real Job’ is the name of the book and he says that he is “looking to find the best war stories from entrepreneurs around the globe”. That sounds interesting right?

So if you believe you have a story worth printing (which I know every single person on this planet does, some longer than others) then watch the video below. If you do not believe you have a story inside you, then.. still watch the video below!

Also, I would love for you to send your stories to me as well (I always love reading about peoples stories, especially those that read Success Circuit!), if you would like to send it to me as well then my email address is Shane [at] ShaneHudson [dot] net.

Let us know in the comments here what you think of this opportunity, are you going to go for it?

This is a guest post by Paul Sabaj, a loyal reader of Success Circuit. This is his first guest post on Success Circuit so please comment and let him know what you think! Hopefully we will have many more from him in the future.

Goal setting has been around for a long time. When you look at some of the great minds they have all had a plan and set some goals with a time line to reach them by. Goals without time lines are just dreams. When you look through out history from the Bible, where it says,” Those without a vision will perish”, to today when Tony Robbins talks of goal setting.

There was also a study done at Harvard where they asked a graduating class their goals for the future and who had written them down. It was found that only 3 % had written them down. Twenty years latter they went back and asked the surviving members who had written their goals how they were doing. It was found that those that had written down their goals were more financially better off than the 97% combined. Pretty strong evidence for the practice of goal setting!

Take some time to write down your goals for short and long term goals. They should be looked at monthly so that should any changes be needed they can be sooner than latter. The nest step is to work on an action plan and a list of things needed to complete the goals. Again keep in mind that if you don’t where your going how are you going to get there. To leave your goals to chance is to let someone else set your course. Some of you will find that when you make your plans known people will let you do them. I know if my wife finds out I have no plans or goals she has a list of hers for me to do.

The other question you have to ask your self is “Why not me”. Your mantra should be I can, I will. The other part of goals is they become the basis for your action plan to get started to where you want to be and the steps you need to identify to make you dreams come true. The information highway has provided unlimited resources and all we have to do is have the motivation to do what ever it takes. You also find that with age and wisdom some times goals change. I myself have had the opportunity to have worked as a firefighter and retired at a young age. I’m currently working on my second career and have been busy for some time laying the ground work. My wife would like to see it sooner than latter and I must get to moving it along. I have made my list of goals and identified my short comings and have set a plan to be a video blogger with a niche for baby boomers. By following the success of others I have a road map to follow and my self motivation to help carry me along. Ok maybe a little push form the wife helps.
I have read over 100 self help books as I have found them to be a great source of inspiration and now must put all of that to work for me. Keeping your goals written down and in front of you can make those dreams a reality.

I think that having the goals in front of you allows you to think about where you want to be and go. Just like the talk of the book The Secret, the idea of having an idea or need in the fore front of your thinking allows you to concentrate more fully on the task at hand. Make the list and get started with your goals and where you want to be. So many people have no clue as to what they want and then wonder why they have no success. Get started!