by Don Simkovich

Created on: February 22, 2009

I will never forget the moment: my name was called to recite what I had learned about folk hero Rip Van Winkle. I trembled because I didn't try to get ready until the last moment. At the age of 10, as a procrastinating Cub Scout, I walked in front of a crowded church basement auditorium on to the stage and took the paper bag that was supposed to be a mask and slipped it over my head.

As I stood on the stage, muffled giggles in the audience replaced the awkward silence.

The den mother in charge asked me if I had written anything. I simply shook my head "no" and she cheerfully had me step on the stage and then called the next boy who recited his report with a well-decorated paper bag for a mask - he even had the eye holes cut out.

That moment of embarrassing failure taught me the key to confidence in communicating successfully is careful preparation. I moved from little stages like the church basement auditorium to an on-air position as a radio news reporter in a small market station, a producer for a nationally syndicated non-profit radio program and an on-going showcase as an actor appearing in front of producers and directors.

I also discovered that each circumstance is like its own little stage, or individual laboratories, preparing us for the next larger step. Failure isn't fatal in these circumstances. It provides an opportunity for understanding what didn't go well and we have the chance to make corrections for the next event.

In recent years, I had successes in establishing a non-profit organization and doubling the size of its program. But when I hit a plateau, I was laid off and then struggled through establishing my own consulting business, working in sales for a major corporation during a decline in credit and product demand, and finally working for a web development company that had little cash flow and owed me thousands of dollars when I decided to leave.

But those failures combined together taught me valuable lessons in starting my new current position successfully: setting clear, achieveable goals, learning how a sales cycle functions, and following up valuable leads. In short, I've learned how to establish a sales and marketing structure for a successful, growing company. My early failures were also building blocks in both interpersonal and group presentations. When stacked together, my previous failures and challenges were tools to navigate challenges in my current position.

While failure can turn us red in the face, it's also a testing strategy helping us to learn so we can grow more effectively. Using both the good and bad experiences is the framework needed to achieve future successes.

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