Insights into the forces shaping our industry.

Don’t Be Afraid to Fail!

Candidate Advice

Being a recruiter is one of the most rewarding experiences. There’s nothing more gratifying than helping grow my client companies.  When I follow up with a candidate I’ve placed and they share they’ve grown sales by $5MM, cut manufacturing costs by 9%, or launched a new product that is expected to generate $30MM in sales – it simply feels great!  From the candidate side, other than personal development, there’s not much else that compares to a great job. I am fortunate enough to help improve people’s lives.

Outside of recruiting, I’m a volunteer youth travel baseball and softball coach.  One message I consistently share with my developing student athletes is: they cannot be afraid to fail.  Let’s be honest, baseball and softball are games designed to make you fail.  Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times. Though, he hit 714 home runs.

We cannot be consumed by the fear of failure. It’s impossible to achieve success without failure.  Bill Gates, Walt Disney, Henry Ford, Mark Cuban, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison all experienced failure before their successes.  I share with my 13-14 year old softball players that success in life comes when you simply refuse to give up; with goals so strong that obstacles, failure and loss only act as motivation.  We’re all going to fall…what makes the great ones special is rising up every time they fall. Nothing is wasted if you learn from it. We’ve all experienced rejection. Don’t let those setbacks define you.  Recognize what caused the problem and turn that into strengths. Take ownership and proceed.

Take chances. Reach for the stars. Break new ground.  Michael Jordan said, “I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. I can’t accept not trying.”  Set your goals and achieve them. Each of us can achieve greatness.  Don’t be afraid to fail during the journey.

Rob Wieska is a contingent and retained recruiter exclusive to the electrical industry with a specialty in Power Distribution and Building Automation in addition to general Electrical Product Manufacturing. To learn more about how he can help your company identify and attract talent, check out his LinkedIn profile or send him an email at rw@egretconsulting.com.