I started this day early. Had to leave house at 6am to chance upon one of our consultants who was supposed to have an interview at one of the major TV/radio networks based here in Manila.
I thought the interview won't push through this day since it was really difficult to contact him. He was based in Baguio, he doesn't own a cellphone nor bring a personal landline.
Not being able to push through with it seemed like a failure to me. I felt that I did not coordinate well. That I've failed to take care of things and settle them early. Some "should-haves" entered my mind.
"I should have been more responsible." "I should have prepared in advance", "I should have thought about this interview as a big deal", "I should have delegated work and asked for help"
At times like this, I turn to my self-help books. Specifically, i have a mini-book of quotes (lent to me a long time ago by a friend, and which I wasn't able to return, hehe) entitled "Successful and Satisfied"
It quotes one statement by William Ward who said:
"Failure should challenge us to new heights of accomplishments, not pull us to new new depths of despair. Failure is delay but not defeat. It is a temporary detour not a dead-end street."
True. Failure is a temporary state. And to get out of it one needs action. Failure is like a quicksand that can sink you further, not unless you think of ways to get out of it.
Nicolas Cage at the Sorcerer's Apprentice saved himself of a "persian quickrug" by clinging to a hanging chandelier. At other movies, a character seeks help from a companion to pull him out of it.
And what does this mean?:
Again, let me say that there are means to get out of failure. You just need to look for your resources, and you have to take action no matter what.
In the nick of time yesterday, I tried to look for ways to "hunt" for our consultant just in time for today's 7:30am radio interview. I emailed him to advice him that it may not push through (the network needed to know in advance who will be included in the interview, but since I failed to contact him, he wasn't able to make it on the show's line up)
"Pagbabaka-sakali".
Just in case he decides to open his email upon coming to Manila, I composed a message to him, telling him that it may be cancelled and that we have to set another scheduled guesting with another network.
I tried reaching the only number he has given to whom I can contact him--his aide's number. I have been trying to contact it the whole day, to which nobody answered.
I took my last shot at about 11pm, and luckily someone did answer the phone. I told the aide about the said cancellation. But our consultant was already in Manila, and she also has no way to contact him once in Manila.
I had no other way then, but to make "abang" in front of the station the next day, to see if he'll appear or not. It was a hit or miss thing.
Me and my partner agreed on a plan: If he does arrives, she will have to persuade the producer to include our consultant in the line up. If he does not arrive, then we'll have to schedule him at another time.
I arrived this morning to work out on my crisis. I actually felt dragged since it was a Sunday morning, and instead of showing up for this, I should have been resting at home.
But since I know it was part of my job (and that people will kill me if Im not able to deliver this well) I had to show up.
Surprisingly, our consultant arrived.
Our partner worked her charms out into telling that we have an additional interviewee, and luckily, they agreed:)
It was a blessing that the interview turned out well. It went smoothly this morning that there wasn't much of a tension or hassle made with the station, our partners(well, slightly because of the unexpected appearance of our consultant), and our consultant himself ( he actually felt persuasive during the interview).
This is one example of a saved failure. Sure, failure can whither your spirit for a time, but to save yourself from it, you have to take action. There is such a thing as crisis management. Aside from plan A, it doesn't hurt to have a plan B, a plan C, and a strong heart. Action is always needed in the face of a crisis/almost failure, and be able to move through it with grace:)
Of course, aside from action,belief at a higher being is equally important. That day, I believed that it wasn't only me who was working. My God was on my side. And if I'm able to act, he'll help me as well. (remember the saying: do your best, and God will do the rest?--well, that holds much truth)
Action, combined with belief that things will work out to your advantage saves you from total failure. And well, from being stuck in despair:)
