Jane Pauley, Turning Point: Success Is Messy - AARP The Magazine

Success Is Messy

That big flop could turn out to be your big break

A week into my sophomore year of high school in 1965, I entered cheerleader tryouts with the confidence of a returning veteran. The scene is as vivid as a movie — a silent movie, because silence was the sound of my name not being called. Girls were hugging. Some were crying; I was one of them. But that day I tried out and failed was the luckiest day of my life, because I was free to try something else. Free to discover a talent I never knew I had. I joined the speech team. A month later I brought home a trophy labeled Extemporaneous Speaking: First Place. Current events were my specialty. The first thing I did after finishing college was flunk a typing test, a screening that in those days — for a woman — was practically a prerequisite for a job. Eleven words a minute! But 1972 was an election year and I'd been a political science major, so I found a job in politics, where I was immediately installed at a typewriter! My morning began with a stack of envelopes to address, and it ended with a wastebasket overflowing with misaddressed envelopes. My desk sat outside the office of the state party chairman. A reporter could casually chat me up while hoping the boss might step out and make a little news. But one day a TV reporter delivered some news — for me. The newsroom had an opening for a reporter: "a female-type person," he said. Though I had neither experience nor a degree in journalism, I had been a champion extemporaneous speaker in high school. It took a while to connect the dots, but the arc of a successful career began on the day I failed to make cheerleader. Failure can be a step in the right direction. Many of us face an uncertain future in these trying times. But trying times can be a time to try something new — to stretch the boundaries of your comfort zone. As Herminia Ibarra writes in Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career, most successful career transitions involve "a messy trial-and-error process." In 2004, I tried a new TV format, a daytime talk show. It barely lasted a season. Recently I returned to the working world. In my new office the first thing I see is a poster-size picture of myself. It's not a vanity thing. It was a publicity shot for the daytime show that failed! Before The Jane Pauley Show even started, I told my kids that its odds weren't great but that my definition of success was having the courage to try. The picture inspires me to keep trying.

Three Ways to Beat Defeat

Never fear failure. Consider this expert advice: 1. ISOLATE THE INCIDENT
Failure is fleeting. "Don't see it as reflecting on a permanent quality of yourself, such as your intelligence," says Carol Dweck, Ph.D., author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success,
2. CHANNEL POSITIVITY
View the experience as a learning opportunity, suggests M.J. Ryan, author of AdaptAbility: How to Survive Change You Didn't Ask For. "The trick is to have what's called a growth mindset. Ask: 'What can I use from this to create success?'" 3. ADJUST YOUR SIGHTS
To boost your odds of success next time, break the effort into doable chunks. Create challenging, clear, specific goals — and have a deadline, says theorist Edwin Locke, Ph.D. — Julia Winkler Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures

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