Consider your frustration with achieving success via social media and networking. This post will put that frustration in perspective and turn it into the fuel you need to overcome any challenge…
Admiral James Stockdale was the highest ranking officer to be captured and held in the ‘Hanoi Hilton’, the infamous Vietnamese camp for prisoners of war. He was imprisoned there from 1965 – 1973, during which time his Vietnamese captors beat and tortured him and his fellow officers relentlessly.
One of the cruelest methods of harming these men was to make them endure solitary confinement. Stockdale later told bestselling author Jim Collins about the mindset that kept him alive under such soul destroying conditions:
“I never lost faith in the end of the story, I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade.”
Most surprising is Stockdale’s account of the people who did not survive at the camp:
“Oh, that’s easy, the optimists. Oh, they were the ones who said, ‘We’re going to be out by Christmas.’ And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they’d say, ‘We’re going to be out by Easter.’ And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart.”
Stockdale then added:
“This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”
Listen to Admiral Stockdale speak to Jim Collins about what Collins calls, “The Stockdale Paradox”.
Realize Setbacks are Part of the Journey
Odds are that you will fail at some point while building a social media campaign. And that’s ok. I’ll openly — hell, proudly — admit to have failed hundreds of times while building my own networks, blogs, and strategies. The reason I succeed through all of the ups and downs is because I’ve learned to stay as curious about my failures as I do about my successes. If something goes wrong I take a cold, hard look at every step of the plan to learn why.
The method to improve the odds of success are to build a plan you believe in, then test and track the progress of this plan using both analytics and the growth in conversations about your business or brand.
One of the ways I gauge my own success is by the influence of the content I share and number of conversations that take place around predetermined goals. I’m a hard case though — I believe 100% in the success of my growth as a marketer and communications professional. If you get to know me you’ll understand I don’t believe in total failure. You hit a snag, adjust, but keep on fighting.
Something I hope you take away after reading this post is to enjoy the journey, not just the destination (presumably wealth or some other form of success). The journey is a lot of fun and can teach you more than you ever thought possible!
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