Rob’s essay, My Failure Resume struck a cord with several last week. Below are some of the responses we received from the MTI Community.
I have just finished reading your essay ‘My Failure Resume’ and it hit hard. The level of self-reflection necessary to conduct an internal evaluation such as this must have been tough and, honestly, not something I think I would have been capable of until now.
I think people these days get caught up in the ultra-positive mindset of ‘reach for the stars’ and ‘don’t look back’ mentality. Maybe, myself included, what a lot of people really need is to sit themselves down and take a cold, hard look at what they’ve done and what they want to do and think about how the decisions that they’ve made in the past are preventing them from reaching their current goals.
A common phrase is ‘what’s meant to be will be’ but all this phrase is, is an escape from taking ownership of your actions and recognising a failure when it’s staring at you in the face – something I am finding myself do more and more.
I’m in a point in my life where there are about to be a lot of big changes and having a clear head before taking on the next round of challenges is necessary if I want to achieve the things I want.
After reading your failure resume, I believe it’s time for make to write my own before I enter this next stage in my life and all I can say now, is thank you.
I can’t thank you enough for this. I’m sitting in a hotel room working for an agency (Diplomatic Security Service) that is, for lack of better phrasing, the little engine that could….but won’t.
When I saw the headline today, it immediately struck a cord. I reflected on the meaning and finally sat down to read the article and it floored me. I served as an officer in the USCG for good nine years and always felt out of place. I was an early CrossFit koolaid drinker and swore by it. When I made up my mind to give SF a go, I was fortunate to meet a couple of 5th group guys at a CrossFit seminar. They quickly instructed me to look up military athlete and start following your programing. I still have the email between us when you graciously sent me the first version of the SFAS selection plan. Long story short, it worked…well. I passed easily at age 35 and was on top of the world. My mistakes came when I got my current job and failed to complete the Q. I regret it every day.
I’m finally getting to where you are now. I am using those (and many more) mistakes to find what I have always been looking for. I really want to thank you for boldly sharing your story. It’s a poignant reminder to keep reaching and not falling into the trap of settling.
You probably know that you have saved lives. On the battlefield and the the windowless offices. I used to run a USCG CF affiliate and lead loads of classes but realized your mission direct approach is the way things should be. Because of you, I have made some of my closest friends and (you) helped renew a passion for health and fitness eventually help themselves. Not 2 hours ago, I was speaking with a no shit old timer/war hero who told me :”Mistakes are our classroom…”
Thank you for what you do, your service, humility and leadership. There is an army of people that owe you a huge debt of gratitude. I look forward to following your lessons for a long time. Please let me know if there is anything I can ever do for you.
Thanks for such a great piece in my inbox this morning, very inspiring and a testament to your professionalism. The message of “the grind is all” is also well-received.
As a former collegiate strength coach/sports med guy who came up roughly during the same time frame as you, I’d also like to express my appreciation for MTI’s programming – I well remember the temptation of unnecessary complexity and gimmicky elements that too often derail the science. Your material has truly set the highest standard in the field and my team members love it.
Thanks again, please keep up the great work!
Just wanted to take a moment to drop you a line and say thank you. I have been a LONG time follower of you and your programs for years. The failure resume is something I have thought about and wrote down in short form here recently. Glad that we can get it out there and learn from it. My only comment, and I see both side of the argument, is that I’m glad you stuck with your content and didn’t jump on with the box mentality. I have brought many colleagues over from boxes and they love your programing.
Keep up the amazing work.
I have been following your website for years now, and yesterday I read you article on “My Failure Resume.” It gave me a lot to think about; about, my own failure. I often wonder where I would be if I took the road not taken. Unfortunately, I would never know. For the most part, I can put that out of my head, but I also have a lot of days where I live in the past, preventing me to not enjoy the present. In fact, very seldomly do I enjoy the present. Many days I feel like a hamster on the wheel, or Groundhog Day. Even though, I managed to realize quite bit in my life, including starting a new life in the US and succeeding in most of my goals, I still can’t shake the feeling that somewhere along the way I have lost my way and my passion. I feel stuck and lost.
Honestly, under different circumstance I think we could have been friends. Just like you, I’m an introvert and I have always had a warrior flame burning in me. Due to some bad advice, I back out of the military, but I took a LE way. Now, many years later, I learned many things about myself along the way, and learned a lot about the world. But I have also made mistakes. I got married out of loneliness and had a child. Even though she is a great person, I am stuck in a loveless marriage with a person that I have nothing in commune. Just like you I have found someone else in my life and I’m on my way of making your mistake number “4.” I often wonder if in a big scheme of things losing my son is worth it. But also over the years a bake a provider only.
Anyway, the article gave a look into your soul, if you want to call it that. This statement: “These days, I’m hesitant to travel to teach a course to a unit without first vetting the students to ensure they are ready for this high level of a course. And many times, I’ve decided they weren’t and turned down the business. I didn’t want to waste the students’ time and the unit’s money teaching a course many would not gain from,” made me realize why I start reading your posts. It confirmed me how humble you are and honestly you should be proud of it. I deal with a lot of people daily, and Sir, being humbled and not chasing money, it is such a dying thing.
Thank you for the great article.
Good Morning Sir,