The Far Side

by Doyne Phillips, Managing Editor

Englishman Roger Bannister was the first man to break the four minute mile. For years it had been said by coaches, runners and sportswriters that is was impossible. No man can run that fast. It had been tried many times and was no longer considered a valid goal. Nine years since the last record for a mile was set at 4 minutes 1.4 seconds, it was thought if no one had broken it in nine years it would not be done.

Roger Bannister did the impossible on May 6, 1954. His triumph inspired others and in the next fifteen years over 300 runners ran a mile in less than 4 minutes. Roger had opened the door.

Roger Banister went on to become a distinguished neurologist earning an honorary doctorate from the University of Bath. He became Sir Roger Bannister when knighted in 1975. In 2004 on the 50^th Anniversary of his 4 minute mile, a British 50 Pence coin was minted in honor of the event. His record was noted by the British people as 13th in the top 100 World’s Greatest Sporting Events. One race, one record brought Sir Roger all the fame and glory for a life time. The win made the difference but the many unknown number of prior attempts and failures were the secret to his success.

 

The late Thomas J. Watson, Chairman of IBM said, "Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You're thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't at all... You can be discouraged by failure - or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because, remember that's where you'll find success, on the far side." I am looking forward to seeing you on the far side.

The Gift of Great Art

by Doyne Phillips, Managing Editor

We all know the story of Thomas Edison’s multiple attempts while perfecting the light bulb. It was said that after over 9,000 attempts he remarked he knew over 9,000 ways the light bulb would not work. Shortly after that with more than 10,000 attempts his success is known far and wide. Edison went on to hold 1,093 US Patents. One can only wonder how many times he failed on each of those before success.

           

The term failure sends chills throughout our being. Yet without it we can never know success. If we had given up our attempts to walk as a child after our first fall where would we be? The same is true for our first attempt at riding a bike, skating or any other endeavor. Hopefully it did not take 10,000 attempts but if it did, so what. We finally succeeded.

We must learn to fail. Failing in itself says we are a success in that we have tried. Another great American invertor Charles Kettering held 186 patents. One which is near and dear to the heart of Southerners is Freon. Kettering said, “It doesn’t matter if you try and try and try again, and fail. It does matter if you try and fail, and fail to try again. We need to teach the highly educated man that it is not a disgrace to fail and that he must analyze every failure to find its cause. He must learn how to fail intelligently, for failing is one of the greatest arts in the world.” Give yourself the gift of the Great Art of Failing. You will get great returns. 

Our Performance Equals Our Potential...Or Does It?

by Doyne Phillips, Managing Editor

“Success and failure come with great interference.”  Winston Churchill

I received this drawing from one of my Facebook friends this week. I do not know it’s origin but was taken by its truth. So many times we expect a “B-line” to success without any detours or bumps in the road. But “what it really looks like” is much more accurate.

Interference has its way of creeping in. I have always felt there were two types of interference. One is the uninvited and unwelcome that can show up at any time in the form of a neighbor, family member, or personal problem that needs your attention. Then there are the sought after and sometimes even fabricated interferences used as an excuse to escape the task at hand. Either must be overcome in order for us to move forward to success.   

Marketing is no different. We will be distracted along the way but will need to correct and get back on track. I once heard the example of the guided missile used. We are all similar to a guided missile. We are constantly going off track and must be guided back on track. Unlike the guided missile we do not have the convenience of technology constantly monitoring us and guiding us back. This we must do ourselves.

David L. Cook, PhD is a renowned performance and sports psychologist. I found one of Dr. Cook’s points in Mindset of a Champion: Performing Your Best When it Means the Most to be particular to writers and their performance. We assume our Performance equals our Potential. But Dr. Cook says Performance equals Potential minus Interference. Dr. Cook told of Magic Johnson speaking to the Washington Wizards. They had their best year in over ten years and were headed to the playoffs.  Magic told them as the playoff begins interference mounts. Managing interference at this stage of the game is vital. Dr. Cook said he was there to prepare them for the interference that was about to come in their life. All the hype had to be overcome in order to win the playoffs. I recommend writers seek his help with interference by getting a copy of Mindset of a Champion: Performing Your Best When it Means the Most.

Watch for an interview with Dr. David L. Cook author of Golf’s Sacred Journey, Seven Days at the Links of Utopia and its movie adaptation Seven Days in Utopia, in the November issue of Southern Writers Magazine.