My Failure Story

Failure isnt something anyone just sets out to achieve, but even after the most meticulous planning ,it can happen .

It was the year 2010 and I had landed a lucurative contract ,with one of our national security services to provide uniforms for their christmas concert 

I was over the moon excited , and although the time was short , and the volume of worth heavy , I  was confident with the help of a few of my industry patners I could accomplish this .

At the time I was also in my 1st year in pursuit of my Degree at University , and one of my frist mistakes was underestimating the time constraint .

I started the job and quickly became overwhelmed , the persons I had planned to hire to take parts of the job all backed out on me , with assignments mounting and not being aware that I could send in my assignments , I failed three of my courses.

With a skeleton staff we worked night into day, and  with the deadline fast approaching everything that could go wrong went wrong . The machines broke down , my staff got tired , my request for help from so called friends fell on deaf ears and I soon realized even with the most valiant of effort we would not make it .

I packed the frist suitcase to travel to the other half of our island with incomplete garments and a heavy heart ,the frist concert was that very evening , I had never felt so horrible in all my life , here was my reputation at stake ,  I felt so bad that the confidence placed in me by those who saw my potential and knew my work was misrepresented .Even a last ditch effort to get the garments to an altered state of completion proved futile, I was alone , no help ,no friend , I couldnt even cry , I felt ashamed, I wanted to die , I had let down so many people .

In spite off the choir used the garments as was and mustered up the strenght to put on a brave showing ,while I got on a plane for a 15 minute ride that seemed to last an eternity .I fell asleep , probably snored and dribbled,I was that exhausted, only jolted out of my slumber by the wheels of the plane hitting the tarmack, but there was no shame to compare .

The following days I mustered up the courage to robotically complete the balance of the uniforms and delivered knowing the war was already lost .

Looking at the video after , all of my mistakes were made apparent ,wrong choice of color, they wanted black, but black under the lightening looked dead, it did nothing for the looks . The graphic design didnt show up as was invisioned and it was poorly done, but he was paid and long gone  , the design I had crafted on paper and so beautifully illustrated was a far cry from what was delivered .

The expectations of the men and women who year after year stood and represented in beautiful gowns ,were dashed ,did I say I wanted to die , yes I wanted to die over and over .

But that long day  soon ended ,for months I felt bad , but I eventually did serious introspection ,determined to learn from my mistakes and move on 

I learnt its ok to assess your ability , even when you are presented with an amazing opportunity , its ok to say no or seek confirmation from those you assume would assist before accepting 

Because taking  on a job without having a committed team to execute from start to finish will not be completed successfully on passion alone .

Business and friends dont mix and your trust in people is sometimes misplaced 

Your reputation can be tarnished and it will take a lot to regain that trust , your economic status will be affected , but you have to continue to move on. 

Good news is since then I have been able to successfully deliver two large contracts , with an amazing hand picked team , that understood the assignment and delivered.

DoI feel redeemed, yes I do , lessons learnt , proper planning , better choices and the honest support of genuine people with shared goals .

Failure has its purpose , It is a part of success.