To what do you attribute your successes and/or failures?

JOEJOEJOE

family?
education or lack of?
drugs?
drinking?
hormones?
lack of focus?
ambition?
anger?
inspiration?

Digital Twilight

By being an individual and living my life the values and standards i set myself and not by what others want or expect.

Black Diamond

Being able to work through problems without regard to time
Being Unpolitical
Always feeling like I have exceeded my own expectations.

81

not getting married


from where i came from, i had no where to go but up. but in all seriousness, i attribute everything to deciding i wanted to go to college in 8th grade. beyond that, i had no clue where i would end up. but i went to college, got a degree and learned excel. it's been downhill ever since.

PureandEasy

Pride. I take pride in doing a good job. I’m lucky enough that I have always enjoyed my job, whether it be my first ever at Taco Bell or now, at the American Red Cross. Whether I was preparing food at Taco Bell, stocking shelves at K-Mart or whatever, I always took pride in doing a good job. That goes a long way, I believe.

And as far as how I got there, my parents and their education and job ethics that they passed along to me and my brothers and sisters. I have them to thank for that.

Wobbie

JOEJOEJOE wrote:

family?
education or lack of?
drugs?
drinking?
hormones?
lack of focus?
ambition?
anger?
inspiration?

family - they set a pretty good example
education - got one
drugs - mostly a distant memory
drinking - I still drink too much, but it hasn't killed me yet
lack of focus - not me
ambition - mildly ambitious
anger - hardly ever
inspiration - PJ is my inspiration but I can't say they propelled me to anything

bottom line? I was a carpenter for 10 years. One day, my GF says to me "I know you don't really love your job; I thought you might be intersted in this".... hands me a job app.... 24 years later, I'm nearing retirement. I lucked into something I love. Thanks, ex-GF!

P.S. I actually did kind of love being a carpenter.... but it's a young man's game.

Claireack

Luck, or lack of it, depending on the thing.

I think I'm like a boat floating on a big ocean, occasionally I remember to steer.

philthehip

Pearl Have certainly help me to succeed at saving but at the same time they are helping to rid me of all money

MrMerkinball

What a great thread!!!

I am married, with 3 kids, good education, great career (life is good).

100% without a doubt, my success is because of my parents and 2 key lessons I have learned frmo them.

There are 2 simple rules I live by:

1. Treat everyone with absolute respect (Got that from my mom)
2. Actively Listen to people (Learned this from my Dad)

LloydXmas

My parents. They were strict when I was younger but now realize that they were looking out for me and preparing me for life. I have a great bond with them and talk to them on a daily basis.

Heineken Helen

Claireack wrote:

Luck, or lack of it, depending on the thing.

I think I'm like a boat floating on a big ocean, occasionally I remember to steer.

same here... I've always gone along with wherever I've been taken. A couple of times I've made big decisions, like moving to England to be with long distance boyfriend, but I've always been sensible about them. Life's been pretty good to me I've definitely had more than my fair share of things working out when they probably shouldn't have :oops: and I certainly know that and am grateful.

chiquimonkey

i've always had a strong work ethic, for which i can credit my dad.

as far as successes in general, having the love and support of family and friends fuels me, a little encouragement goes a long way for me. i'm also really headstrong so that helps in terms of having an unwavering focus.

as for failures, that's all on me....sometimes due to lack of confidence or letting my emotions get the better of me. which i've been good on working on trying to be a weeeee less volatile but we learn from the failures as much from the successes i figure, if not more so.

and this:

Digital Twilight wrote:

By being an individual and living my life the values and standards i set myself and not by what others want or expect.

never been interested in the rat race. i base my decisions on what works for me, not what others around me are doing. my only competition is myself, as well as my worst critic.

blondieblue227

i'm disabled so you'd think i'd blame it on that, but i don't.

As for success, determination and a little bit of luck.

I’m one for thinking people don’t have as much control as they think they do.
Sure you may pick all the right choices, but you may still end up in the shitter.

Heineken Helen

blondieblue227 wrote:

i'm disabled so you'd think i'd blame it on that, but i don't.

As for success, determination and a little bit of luck.

I’m one for thinking people don’t have as much control as they think they do.
Sure you may pick all the right choices, but you may still end up in the shitter.

absolutely... some of my worst choices have lead to the best experiences... there's no way of telling how things are gonna play out.

eyedclaar

Mango crack. Seriously, you haven't even lived if you haven't tried it...

Cliffy6745

Parents - I was a pretty bad kid for a while and a principle tried to get my parents to send me to a vocational school. My parents refused and I turned out alright...

eyedclaar

The exorcism didn't hurt either. I concentrate better now days.

Heineken Helen

Cliffy6745 wrote:

Parents - I was a pretty bad kid for a while and a principle tried to get my parents to send me to a vocational school. My parents refused and I turned out alright...

wow, my parents were like the kids in the family at times. Sometimes I wonder if it made me stronger or if it will ultimately lead to my mental breakdown :?

dcfaithful

I'm only 21...so I've had plenty of these, but I have many, many, many more to encounter.

My parents -- from day one they've steered me in the right direction, supported me, and done the best to propel me to what it was I was seeking. I am forever in debt to there continuous support and love for all my life decision, regardless how much merit they may hold.

I also like to thing my ambition is one of my strongest traits...sometimes I think I have too much for my own good. I really related to the saying at the end of the movie Blow: "My ambition far exceeded my talents." :oops:

I'm still pressing on though, and chasing whatever dream arises in me.

blondieblue227

Heineken Helen wrote:

absolutely... some of my worst choices have lead to the best experiences... there's no way of telling how things are gonna play out.

yeah.

as for the parent thing. that great if you say it's because you have good parents, but i know people that blame their parents for their crappy life. that's not right either. at some point you have to forget what your parents did and do right yourself.

Heineken Helen wrote:

[
wow, my parents were like the kids in the family at times. Sometimes I wonder if it made me stronger or if it will ultimately lead to my mental breakdown :?

just now read that.
your parents shape you, do doubt about that.

i'm just saying its not all parents.
i know good parents with bad kids.
'they always blame the mother' in some cases that's not fair to the mom.

pandora

JOEJOEJOE wrote:

family?
education or lack of?
drugs?
drinking?
hormones?
lack of focus?
ambition?
anger?
inspiration?

I've made great choices in my life- not sure why or how but I am a fortunate person surrounded by wonderful people and lots of love. My parents were kind and generous with insight and passed that on to me. I drink and do drugs, lack focus often, I am not ambitious in the least, don't have a lot of education but I have faith in myself and those I love and faith in God and where I am going. I am at peace. I feel if I'd leave this world today that I had a successful life.

Heineken Helen

blondieblue227 wrote:

Heineken Helen wrote:

absolutely... some of my worst choices have lead to the best experiences... there's no way of telling how things are gonna play out.

yeah.

as for the parent thing. that great if you say it's because you have good parents, but i know people that blame their parents for their crappy life. that's not right either. at some point you have to forget what your parents did and do right yourself.

Agreed... sometimes it's just too easy to blame everyone else for whatever! There comes a point where you have to take responsibility for everything. Although sometimes it's nice to have a fallguy

JOEJOEJOE

Wow, some very thoughful responses!

ZiggyStar

Me

mdigenakis

Stubborness.

UpSideDown

successes - work ethic, listening/truly caring about others, some luck, persistance, and honesty in all situations.

failures - worrying too much, anxiety, unwillingness to change, not controlling my temper, not going outside of my comfort zone, trusting others too much and expecting them to care always.

killyourfm

Maybe this is a cop-out, but ultimately it's been true for me...I attribute my success to my failures...

As for the failures? That'll take some dwelling.

blondieblue227

Heineken Helen wrote:

Agreed... sometimes it's just too easy to blame everyone else for whatever! There comes a point where you have to take responsibility for everything. Although sometimes it's nice to have a fallguy

true dat.