> Class of 2021 – The Journey Forward-Success v. Failure
(Previously Published on LinkedIn)
Class of 2021, congratulations on your upcoming graduation! This milestone is the start of your journey to becoming a lifelong learner. Even if you never set foot in another classroom, you will still learn from your life experiences. There will be success and failures. Of course, you will always want to give your best and succeed at every task. Life is not so easy. Not every task that you attempt will be successful and the way you envisioned it. You will learn to shake off the sadness, self-doubt and fear to try again. Occasionally, you will encounter failures at a job, task or simply giving a presentation. Failures can become a gift as it gives you the opportunity to cultivate grit, character and genius. With each failure, you can come back stronger because you will have learned from the experience. Failures are a part of life. Unfortunately, society looks down on those who fail based upon a perception of what failure is. In a race, of course no one wants to be in second place. Accolades go to the winners. Those who come in second are easily forgotten. If you can overcome failure by being tenacious and stay in the game, however, is it really a failure when you become successful?
In life, you cannot let outside forces or people define you. Instead of choosing to accept fate, you can choose to blaze your own path. If you do not reach a goal, do not despair or give up. When faced with an obstacle, seek an alternate direction on the path that you are traveling. That calculated risk will define your success and clarify your outlook. Despite good or bad consequences, your willingness to be persistent and patient will help you to reach your goal. You may even reap greater rewards. Let me give you two examples:
Evelyn Berezin was a physicist, computer engineer and entrepreneur. Despite her computer designs and accomplishments, she was denied career growth due to workforce sexual discrimination in the 1950’s and 1960’s. A 2018 NPR.org obituary for Berezin described the rampant sexism within the technology industry. In 1960, the New York Stock Exchange board of directors rescinded a job offer of vice-president in charge of managing their communication’s computer systems because Berezin was a woman (http://bit.ly/NPR_Berezin). She continued to flourish in the industry despite the bias against her gender. Highlighting her ability to design computer systems, Berezin created the first computerized airline booking system in 1962 for United Airlines. In 1969, Berezin designed the first computerized word processor for the office environment. Refusing to accept a male-dominated hierarchy, she founded her own company, Redactron Corporation. Berezin and her 500 employees mass produced and globally sold her prototype called the Data Secretary. A Washingtonpost.com article stated that the product made office work easier for secretaries who could create digital error-free documents and multiple pages for wider distribution without the need to copy pages. (http://bit.ly/WashingtonPost_Berezin). Berezin was the first female company president in the male-dominated computer industry. After leaving the company in 1976, Evelyn Berezin served on boards for several companies. At the time, most businesses had very few or no women on their Board of Directors.
For her contributions to the computer industry, Berezin was inducted into the Women in Technology Hall of Fame in 2011, Computer History Museum’s Hall of Fellows in 2015 and National Inventors Hall of Fame. According to the National Inventors Hall of Fame, she held 13 U.S. patents (http://bit.ly/NationalInventors_HallOf_Fame_Berenzin). Her achievement is remarkable because the number of patents with at least one woman inventor in 1977 was only 3.4% compared to 18.8% in 2010, according to a 2016 Institute for Women’s Policy Research Briefing Paper (http://bit.ly/InstituteforWomen_Patents). Berezin was a trailblazer who did not accept failure and bypassed obstacles. In a long, distinguished career, she reaped hard-earned accolades and recognition in the emergent computer industry.
Jack Nicklaus is one of the best golfers of all time. From 1957 to 1998, Nicklaus played in a record 154 consecutive major championships. He earned the most Majors’ titles with 18 victories according to the Nicklaus.com website (http://bit.ly/Nicklaus_Stats). His Majors’ scorecard of wins included six masters at the Augusta National Golf Club, five Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) championships, four U.S. Opens and three British Opens. In contrast to his first-place wins, Nicklaus was a runner-up 19 times at the majors, which included four masters, four PGA championships, four U.S. opens and seven British Opens as listed in a Golftoday.co.uk article. (http://bit.ly/GolfToday_MostMajors). When Nicklaus came in second on multiple occasions, he could have walked away in defeat and been satisfied with his past wins. Professional golf is a tough sport. Many golfers do not have longevity or earn significant wins because of the stress and physical toll of competing year after year against the world’s top players. Golf, however, was Nicklaus’ passion. Over the span of a 40-year career, Nicklaus continuously recovered from defeat or what others might call failure. His longevity showed his tenacity and strength of character. Despite the weather, physical damage and other factors, Nicklaus continued to play another day.
Although there are countless other examples, Evelyn Berezin and Jack Nicklaus demonstrate that obstacles in your life do not have to defeat you. For every failure, you must reflect on what you can do differently to succeed. The corrective actions can include practice more, make another attempt, take a different path, develop additional networks, or embrace patience in waiting for the win. Set your goals and work hard to create an environment for the fates to fall in line. If a personal goal is for you, then you will attain it. Life is just that way. Dig deep to tap into your grit, strength of character and genius to strive for greater things despite the obstacles. With belief in your knowledge, skills and talent, you will mark out the trailblazing path that leads to your “defined” success. Congratulations on your graduation and have a great summer!
Valarie R. Austin is the author of The Student’s Comprehensive Guide for College & Other Life Lessons. She has a wealth of knowledge on the subjects of career and college preparation. She also conducts career and college readiness workshops for high school students and parents. Check out her author’s pages on https://www.linkedin/in/valarie-r-austin, https://www.goodreads.com/valarie_r_austin and https://www.amazon.com/author/valarie_r_austin. A Youtube.com review of her book can found at https://youtu.be/xy_GSHlJsa0. This article was edited by Raffie Johnson. Copyright 2021, Vauboix Publishing LLC. (Article 5 of 5, spring 2021)
The Student's Comprehensive Guide For College & Other Life Lessons
La Guía Comprensiva del Estudiante para la Universidad & Otras Lecciones de Vida
