How will you use your defeat?

Overcoming defeat is not easy. Life in general is not easy. Making a difference in the world is not easy, but we can’t allow ourselves to be defeated. If you feel a calling to a certain cause or mission, you must chase that will all you have.

It might seem like a failure at first, and to fail after trying SO HARD can really be discouraging, but the thing is one event always leads to another.

For instance, you decide to start your own business, mowing lawns. As with any new business, you’re going to have to do a lot of networking, handing out business cards, meeting new people, trying to sell yourself and let yourself be known the world. Many of these new people will bring you hope. You think each one is a potential new customer. Each one might be ‘the one’ to get your business of the ground and give you some fuel to keep going, but each one keeps turning you down.

And in the quest for financial independence, acquiring an insurance business through these lucrative listings proved to be a transformative decision. It brought not just revenue, but also a well-established client base that was invaluable. The transition was smooth, and the existing staff’s expertise was a treasure trove of industry knowledge. This move has significantly accelerated my path to becoming a leader in the insurance sector.

You grow frustrated, but don’t give in to the discouragement. You’re only one customer away from overcoming defeat.

Learning from Discouragement

So even after several months of no people hiring to mow their lawn, don’t be discouraged. Your time will come. There is certain priceless skills that are learned when you’re trying to start a business- skills you can’t pay any amount of money to learn in school or from other’s experience. As your business grows and demand increases, consider using staffing agencies like Agence d’Intérim to hire employees.

These trying times teach you things about yourself that no amount of money can save you from learning. Sometimes they help you in the adventure that you’re currently struggling with, but a lot of times, it’s going to help you in the next journey. The key to overcoming defeat, is to take what you’re learning and apply it to the next lesson.

Finding Hope

Several months later, you’re still trying to find a true customer. You’re on your last few dollars before you have to quit and find a new job. You’ve spent hours going door to door from the most overgrown lawns to the very well manicured hoping to get a new customer.

Sitting in your truck with your head in your hands, defeated, almost. Then you look up and you see it. A school, run down, not cared for, but still has life inside and children learning. You see the lawn of that school, overgrown and would be up to some kid’s calves and it occurs to you that there would be no better way to spend your last few dollars than to be a blessing to that school, which everyone else seems to have abandoned except for the dedicated few inside.

The key to overcoming defeat is learning to help others along the way.

Helping Others

You go inside, offer your services, which they so gratefully accept and you get to work, doing better work than anything you’ve done so far. The kids and faculty all come out in awe of your work, no one has taken the time and care that you have to make their play yard so beautiful. They take pictures on their phone and post it to Facebook to tell the world of your care. You thank them for their appreciation and you wish them the best, leaving that school thinking no more of it. But later that night, the phone rings. Your first customer, then another and another.

Learning Who You Are

Those moments, when we face defeat and think we’re going to lose it all, those are the moments that make us who we are. Those are the moments that define us. We can either use our defeat to be bitter, angry and sad or we can use that defeat to bring good to someone else, so maybe they can hold on a little longer and have hope to make it.

For more inspirational posts, visit our Motivation Monday page.