lj| Minority & Small Business Week
September 28, 2005
Page B ll
A d v e r t is e w i t h d i v e r s i t y in
Turning Business Failures into Future Success
Get up and
keep following
your dream
by
CRITICAL
CHOICES
I HAT CHANGE LIVES
D aniel R. C astro
Perhaps your professional
life isn’t going exactly like you
thought it was supposed to go.
Maybe you’ve made a series
of bad decisions or even one
really bad choice that you can' t
seem to bounce back from.
Maybe you’ve been down
sized or terminated. Maybe
your best-laid plans have fai led
and circum stances beyond
your control— from market
downturns to bad weather to a
key player's incompetence—
have put you in the danger zone,
or even out in the street.
You may not realize it right
now, but you do have options.
You could wallow in self-pity,
or remain angry at those whom
you blame for your current situ
ation. Or you can turn your past
disappointments into great ac
complishments. How? Just fol
low the path o f the heroes
who’ve gone before you. They
will show you how to transform
past adversity and failures into
springboards for success.
Tip No. 1: Take an objec
tive, not an emotional look at
where you've come from.
Thomas Edison believed there
were no such things as mis
takes, only eliminated options
I
T u rn
I Tragedy
Into
T riu m p h
Daniel R. Castro (above) is
author of “Critical Choices
that Change Lives: How
Heroes Turn Tragedy into
Triumph. ’
that brought him one step closer
to his goal. There is no such
thing as "failure,” he claimed,
only lessons to be learned.
As adults, we take failure
personally, believing our lack of
success indicates a lack in our
character. Instead, we must
look at the situation objectively,
as a matter of cause and effect.
The fact that we fail in business
situations does not mean we are
fai I ures, but rather that we didn ’ t
create the right cause to achieve
the desired effect.
If you find yourself in a stuck
emotional state, go back and
analyze the steps you took and
see what you might have done
differently. Remove the emo
tional involvement; just look at
the raw data.
D A N IE L R .C A S T R O
Tip No. 2: Focus on the
purpose on the other side o f
the pain.
Happiness does not come
from the elimination of pain, bu,
from the realization of your pur
pose. Keep reminding yourself
why you are doing what you’re
doing. Even less lofty purposes,
such as “ I just work here to pay
the rent and my car payment,”
can be transformed over time if
you look at the higher purpose
for why you might be there.
Without a sense of purpose,
you will lack motivation and con
sciously or subconsciously doom
yourself to failure.
Tip No. 3: 'You c a n ’t see
the whole parade from where
you stand.
You never know from where
you stand whether what you
are experiencing will turn out
to be good or bad until enough
time has passed. A seemingly
hopeless situation may be ex
actly the disaster you fear, but
it may also turn from catastro
phe into triumph in ways you
are unable to predict.
When people get stuck in
“Why me?” mode as a result
of a severe business loss, they
require a mindshif, in order to
recoverasenseofbelief, hope,
and inner strength so they can
move on. When we make a
deliberate decision not to give
up, then life seems to present
I o p p o rtu n itie s we h a d n ’t
thought of or couldn’t create
ourselves.
Tip no 4: It's not whether
you have won or lost in the
past; it’s the person you have
to become in order to win in
the future.
After a business failure has
led you to analyze the objective
data of your experience, you
continued
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Construction firm takes steps to grow
Boanerges Group, a small mi
nority-owned construction con
tractor located in northeast Port
land, has an eye towards in
creasing its capacity to perform
work in the highway construc
tion industry. The firm special
izes in concrete flat work, fenc
ing, signs and guardrail.
Sharon Maxwell-Hendricks,
the owner, has 11 years experi
ence in the industry. She started
Boanerges five years ago.
Hendricks said “doing the
work and seeing all aspects of
it come together” is what she
enjoys most about the busi
ness.
She advises that a young per
son interested in construction
should obtain a solid knowledge
of applied math.
Her company has completed
small sidewalks, fencing and
guardrail projects. Sharon says
a majorchallenge is the ability to
compete for work with large
bonding requirements. Herfirm
cannot compete for some larger
projects because she cannot get
the required bonding.
In taking steps to grow her
company, Hendricks utilizes the
resources offered through the
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B LAC K U N ITE D FU N D
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O R E G O N
Construction contractor Sharon Maxwell-Hendrix is owner of the
Boanerges Group.
Disadvantaged Business Enter
prises Supportive Services Pro
gram in the Oregon Depart
ment of Transportation.
She recently participated in a
DBE project outreach confer
ence to review project specifi
cations, meet ODOT project
management, and offer her ser
vices to eligible bidders.
When asked if the DBE pro-
gram had helped her firm win
contracts, she said, “ Not to
date, but it has helped to pro
vide technical assistance with
bids, inform ation on the sys
tem and contact with gener
als, inform ation for scope let
ters and going out to meet with
generals.”
For more information, con
tact Hendricks at 503-281 -0224.
'We applaud minority-owned businesses. ‘Your dedication
and contributions enhance our neighborhoods. fiCe vatue
our community partnerships. ”
- Notice Chief (DerricbjFoxworth
2828 NE Alberta Street
Telephone (503) 282-7973
Fax (503) 282-3482
Web address: www.bufor.org
"WHERE EVERY PERSON MATTERS AND EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS"
SALUTES MINORITY BUSINESS WEEK
“Greeting from East side members o f the Portland
delegation to the State House o f Representatives. ”
I
V*
y
Rep. Chip
Shields
Rep. Jackie
Dingfelder
Rep. Jeff
Merkley
/?ep. Steve
The Portland Police Bureau is hiring!
Application deadline: October 10, 2005 @ 4:30 p.m.
Police Officer Exam: October 29, 2005
For more information contact: Officer Larry Anderson 503.823.0473
Visit our website for officer stories, information and to apply online:
w w w .joinportlandpolice.com
i
March
‘W e s a lu te P o r t la n d 's m i n o r i t y o w n e d b u s in e s s e s .”
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