by Phil Burks
Early in my business and personal life, I thought failure was fatal. One and done. That was before I had read and understood all the great quotes about failure from very famous people. I learned from an IBM executive that “if you are not failing, you are sitting still.” That was liberating for me! It allowed me to dream a little and plan with expectation. If I failed, so what!
In How to Eat a Failure Sandwich, I tell about twenty stories of family, personal and business failures. Others have said that at times it can be a very raw account of my life as I went from college at LeTourneau University to founding The Genesis Group 35 years ago. Some stories are downright funny, some are amazing, and some may bring a tear. All are designed to tell the young businessperson that the one thing they are not permitted to do is quit!
There’s a story about how a company failure saved us from providing technology to the Taliban in 2000. In another story, you hear about how I am still wondering why an office building project failed. You’ll read how my life intersected in college with Franklin Graham. There are crazy stories of my days in broadcasting—building a radio station and being a DJ on various East Texas radio stations and then reporting and anchoring at KLTV.
We have crafted my failure stories into business lessons for the budding entrepreneur, as well as life lessons for the average person. I suppose I never thought of using my failures to help others. But in the past seven years, I have found myself mentoring business-minded people, both young and old. Some, actually many, are seeking career changes. Others are trying to understand how to be successful. These meetings helped me learn that I had something in my history that might have value to someone else. My passion for taking apart radios as a child turned out to be a transferable skill that parlayed not only into a career but also helped me in my role as a mentor. When people come to me for advice, I approach their concerns the same way I approached old radios. I can take apart and analyze business ideas and positions for entrepreneurs and business owners and then help them put it all back together again in a way that makes sense.
As I created the book, I learned how much my Christian faith and belief system has guided and helped me and is now helping others. The book does not flog the reader with religion, nor do I try to convince the reader to believe as I do. I simply tell about my journey and how, in failure, having an anchor called Jesus meant so much on the darkest of days.
How To Eat a Failure Sandwich by Phil Burks is available on Amazon, Kindle, and Audible. Visit www.PhilBurks.com to learn more and see photos associated with the book.