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. 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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 JTnrtianb (Dbscruer TOP QUALITY • NO GIMMICKS • NO HIGH PRESSURE • NO M IN IM U M FREE ESTIMATES k i l AÀ. 4 J 4 Clip This ! • Welded Frame & Sash • Glass Breakage W arranty (o pt) • Full Lifetime W arranty (opt.) • DP 50 Rated-173 mph Wind • Call Us Before You Buy r __ As a trade ally of the Trust Give It To : ; A Friend j r n i r ’Y "—A? BIA TT“ I-"-1’ SUILtMMG INOOSTRT ASSOCIATION BBB “Simply the Best for Less’ 2511 N. Hayden Island Drive • Next Io Jantzen Beach Supercenler B LAC K U N ITE D FU N D OF 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 .” 1