Making A Federal Case Of Dorothea Brande's "It Is Impossible To Fail"...

"Inside of a ring or out, ain't nothing wrong with going down. It's staying down that's wrong."
- Muhammad Ali

Hiya Simon,

Another great post to ponder!

> Here they are those famous words:

> "All that is necessary to break the
> spell of inertia and frustration is this:
> ACT AS IF IT WERE IMPOSSIBLE TO FAIL. That
> is the talisman, the formula, the command of
> right-about-face which turns us from failure
> towards success"
> -- Dorothea Brande --

Great quote.... Let's look at it piece by piece....
"All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this:

This part is very important.... She's talking about BREAKING THE SPELL OF INERTIA....

That is, the problem of procrastination.... which is often (but not always) due to FEAR.
ACT AS IF IT WERE IMPOSSIBLE TO FAIL.

I interpret this as a way to overcome your fear of failure....

Dorothea Brande, I think, is a writer....

In business activities it might be good to add a caveat. It could be good to also think about the "down-side"...

How much could you lose if you do fail? I think there are some good people who say this....

Richard Branson writes in his autobiography that "taking care of the down side" is one of his "secrets" -- he always has a "Plan B" in case it doesn't work out how he hopes....

Kirk Kerkorian does the exact same thing.... He also tends to have a "Plan B" as well....

As a writer, your "down side" is a loss of your time. But in business, the loss could be a lot of money, so that's the only caveat I'd add....

Don't forget to take care of the down-side....

Make sure you have created a "Plan B" just in case things haven't turned out the way you hoped....

This is GREAT advice, from some MASTERS of business. Don't take it lightly!

> My questions are:

> 1.Are those words self-evident to you?
> 2.Or you feel a sense of unsolved mystery in
> those words?
> 3.Do you think "ACT AS IF IT WERE
> IMPOSSIBLE TO FAIL" needs further
> elaboration?
> 4.If those words are so simple and easy to
> apply, why most people DON'T achieve
> success?
> 5.This wisdom flies in the face of common
> knowledge (in "reality" people
> fail constantly), can you think of some
> MODEST examples of putting those words into
> action?

> What are your thoughts?

A good set of questions....

Dorothea Brande's advice could be great, as long as you make sure you don't lose too much if you DO fail.

Not everyone does that, and it's not everyone's style.... I've been told by my friends that while I take risks, my risks are very calculated risks.... I figure out exactly what I could gain, and also what I could possibly lose, and then decide if it's acceptable given my particular circumstances....

And it's also good to try to figure out a "backup" Plan B just in case Plan A doesn't work out....

We've had TWO great pieces of advice on how to "get going"....

Some great tips from one of Gordon Alexander's recent posts.... He said....
Motivation (movement) comes from anticipation...

of the fulfillment of a desire.

So if there is a lack of movement in your life, the the starting line is the examination of the desire.

That's great advice number 1. You could be holding yourself back due to LACK OF DESIRE.... Read Gordon's post for more details....

But what if you have desire, but you're just scared to death of failure?

Well, now we come to good advice number 2.... Which, as Simon quoted,
All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: ACT AS IF IT WERE IMPOSSIBLE TO FAIL.

Or as Michael Ross said earlier, EMBRACE THE FEAR....

So there's at least TWO reasons for procrastination and not getting going....

1. Lack of desire, and

2. Fear of failure....

And two powerful pieces of advice!

Are there any other reasons for procrastination?

Dien