“Success comes in cans, failures in can’ts” is a popular quote in self-development circles.  It’s often attributed to Brian Tracy, but I’m not sure anyone really knows the source of this powerful saying.  From my own experience, I find that focusing on the first half is more powerful than thinking about the whole quote.

So what does “success comes in cans” really mean?  Does it mean that you can buy a can at the grocery store and when you open it you’re successful?  No – not really.  However, I love the image that this creates – the thought of a stack of cans next to the baked beans, all labelled “Success”!  Keep that image in your mind whilst reading the rest of this article and it will help you to keep hold of the necessary frame of mind that we’re looking to encourage.

So if we’re not talking about actual tin cans, what does the expression mean?  Well, it comes down to attitude.  As children, many of us had loving, protective parents who told us “don’t do that, it’s dangerous” or “you can’t climb up there – you’ll fall” all of which was well-meaning, but leaves us as adults as unwilling or unable to turn our minds to an aspect that will lift us up and propel us dynamically towards guaranteed success.  That doesn’t mean that we’re irreparably damaged just that we need to make a conscious effort to develop a “can-do” attitude.

Practitioners of NLP will tell you that if anyone can do something, then the rest of us can learn how to do the self-same thing by modelling.  This is great news for those of us who constantly strive to better themselves as it means that whatever we’re asked to do, we can choose to answer “yes” even if we’ve never done it before, confident that we’ll either figure it out easily or that there’ll be someone somewhere who we can model.  It’s this confident, can-do attitude that’s the essence of the saying “success comes in cans”.

Consider a real-life scenario where you’re asked to do something at work that’s way outside your remit.  Assuming the request is reasonable and congruent with both your own values and those of your employer, you have two choices: “yes” or “no”.  If you’ve never done this particular task before, your initial instinct might be “I can’t do that” or “I don’t know how to do that” or even “I wouldn’t even know where to start”.  Clearly, this path is not particularly productive and whilst it may not have any immediate impact, your boss will probably label you as someone who lacks ambition.  However, if you take the other path and say “of course I’ll do it, although I may need a little guidance” you’ll stand out as a “can-do” person and your boss will be only too happy to help you to grow either directly, or by having you consult with someone else who’s done this task in the past.

What’s the worst that can happen if you say “yes”?  Well, you could try and fail.  However, ‘failure’ is a great learning opportunity.  If you go back to your boss and tell them that you’ve tried but you’re not getting anywhere, they’ll be only too happy to give you a pointer in the right direction.  That way, you still grow and your boss knows that you’re someone they can rely on.

Use the imagery if it helps – I know it does for me – but whatever you do, I would encourage you to always keep in mind that “success comes in cans”.