Secret to my failure

My old friend Mike Ochosa called me up recently. He was my client when he was still in San Miguel and we remained in touch even after. We haven’t seen each other in a while, so I was pleasantly surprised when he called.

"Hey, buddy, what’s up?" I asked him.

And he said, "Pare, I have a radio talk show, I want to invite you to be my guest."

"Sure, what’s the radio talk show all about?"

"It’s called ‘Secret to My Success.’ We guest achievers and ask them how they became successful," he said.

I paused for a while, kinda perplexed. Then I said, "Mike, what’s the punchline? You must be kidding, right? Are you sure it’s me you wanted to call?"

"Yeah, silly! I want to invite you to be my special guest next week."

I was taken aback. I mean, duhhh – I really don’t consider myself successful at all. I know a gazillion other people who are financially better off than I am and far more successful. So I wasn’t sure what to answer. So I said, "Mike, I’m not sure I’m the right guy for your show. What right do I have to be there?"

And he said, "Believe me, you have all the right to be there. So, see you next week, OK?"

So I said, "Hmm... OK – but only because you’re asking me. I’m still not convinced that I should be there."

So the week after that telephone conversation, I went to the NU107 studio for the talk show. The concept is interesting – there was Mike, the main host (who, by the way, has a nice Rey Langit-ish baritone voice, except that Mike speaks English better and is arguably better-looking); and then there was his ventriloquist partner Oni, and his puppet Kenet. It was weird in a way – two guys were interviewing me, plus a puppet – even if no one was really watching us. Kenet, the puppet, provided the comic relief in what is otherwise a serious show. And, in an odd way, his presence made me more relaxed – even if I knew darn well he was just being operated by Oni.

As the show went on, Mike asked me about my life, my career, the professional paths I took. I certainly don’t consider myself a failure but I’m not even comparable to our top local businessmen. I am just a business executive in a music channel who toils, just like everyone else, with a small business on the side.

It really just dawned on me when Mike was introducing me – "He’s a former model, a lawyer, Philippine STAR writer, a corporate and TV host, businessman, a newscaster and has been known to have had the privilege of always landing the coolest jobs in the world – he was the former country manager of IMG, the world’s largest sports marketing company which manages Tiger Woods, and is now marketing director of the world’s biggest and coolest music channel – MTV. Folks, Rod Nepomuceno." I paused for a moment, just trying to absorb everything that Mike said about me, trying to find something profound to say, then after a few seconds, I was finally able to say something: "Hi!"

So much for profound statements.

As Mike discussed my career, I realized that – yes, to a certain degree, I have become successful. Not so much on the financial or status aspect. But more on the fact that I followed my own path and I didn’t have to always settle for what was placed before me. That’s success in itself. Mike was particularly interested in the fact that I didn’t allow myself to be typecast and boxed in my lawyer status and that I went out there and explored the world. He said he was particularly impressed with my ability in dealing with people – how I remembered names and people very well, how I seemed to have an easy time winning people to my side, and my overall effectiveness in closing deals without seemingly trying too hard. Frankly, I didn’t think I had these talents at all – until I heard it from Mike.

I realized that a lot of my success had something to do with my past failures. I have had a lot of failures in my life. I lost an election in college. I applied as a newscaster at one of the channels – made the final list – but didn’t make it. I auditioned for countless shows and commercials and I would say my failure rate was 90 percent. I dabbled in some businesses – car trading, multimedia products marketing, TV program production, T-shirt business, food stalls, restaurants, multilevel marketing – and failed in all. But because of these failures, I resolved to work harder to find out where my strengths lie.

Where your strengths lie, there your success will be. So now I am in the media marketing business. For some reason, I found it easy to excel in this field. And now I am concentrating on this solely – my work in MTV and writing for this paper. I have businesses on the side – but I let my expert partners handle them. I try not to spread myself too thin – the chances for failure are much less that way.

I don’t regret those failures though because they made me stronger and told what businesses I should avoid. So, by process of elimination, I was able to find my niche where I most probably will find success and self-satisfaction.

I may be wrong but I really do think that behind every successful man is a string of failures and rejection. It is those people who failed a lot that eventually end up successful. These people never stop trying. And that’s what sets them apart from everyone.

Somehow, success is much sweeter after you fail. And there’s no better feeling in the world than to succeed in something after going through so much tribulation and hardship.

You want to know the true secret of success? Here’s my two cents worth of advice – try failure first.

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Thanks for your letters! You may write me at rodnepo@yahoo.com. By the way, if you want to catch the Secret to my Success radio show, tune in to NU 107 at 10 p.m. every Thursday.