Welcome to “Why Failure is Important for success?“
A question that many people will have heard but don’t pay too much attention to!
As a young child, we have it drummed into us that failing is not a good thing and therefore we have that fear that we carry along throughout our life.
Some people let it dictate how they live their lives and ensure they play it safe and never find their full potential.
Whilst some may take it on board and turn it into something positive.
There is no getting away from the fact that failing in anything can be very unsettling and stressful.
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- Maybe a driving test
- School exam
- Interview for a job
To get to the other side you have to try otherwise you will never know, so why does it play an important part in our lives and why do we let it dictate what we do?
Life, in general, can be complex but it doesn’t have to be, it is just how we perceive it.
In actual fact life is very simple and straightforward, it is us that complicate things.
Everything is 50/50, like a light switch on and off, yes and no in fact it couldn’t be any simpler.
There is no such thing in life as “I might” or “Maybe” they just don’t exist in the grand scheme of things.
People, in general, are not risk-takers and would rather take the easy route because people don’t like rejection and letting others down.
There is nothing wrong with that if you are married and you are bringing up a young family!
But there is always this negative side that we are constantly battling with and tends to rule what we do.
The Importance Of Failure – Failing At The First Hurdle
Everybody fails in life no matter what and you just can’t get away from it.
Failure is a part of who we are so accept it and make it work for you!
But failure isn’t sometimes actually a failure, like something that can not be avoided like losing a job through no fault of your own.
However, if something doesn’t go our way for whatever reason, we tend to group it as a failure, right?
Failure is a part of who we are and an important part of our progression through life and it determines who we are moving forward.
I have failed more times than I care to admit and some failures were small whilst some were big and all affected me to some point.
However, you learn to accept and move on otherwise you would never advance and you would be stuck in the past.
Nobody enjoys failure but if the first failure that comes your way affects your entire life moving forward as some do.
Then you are missing out on so much!
In fact, failure is one of life’s teachers, it can help to give us more confidence, lessen the ego and help to make us a better person.
It can also have the opposite effect if you do not accept failure which a lot of people do not and never achieve their full potential.
Let’s Take A Look At What Failure Is? With a Few Examples!
So, let’s take a look at what failure is and why it is so important for success!
Many people who are nowadays people who we recognize as successful people didn’t have it all handed on a plate like some sort of silver spoon.
They went through struggles for all sorts of reasons which we aren’t aware of unless we have a reason to research the subject.
Here are a few well-known figures who started out life not as they intended it to be.
As entrepreneurs, one of the most significant challenges might well be the lack of confidence, and as a result, creates a fear of failure.
Bill Gates
We all know who Bill Gates is but did you know that Gates dropped out of Harvard just like another billionaire, Mark Zuckerberg.
Most people won’t even know about all the good work his foundation does for other people in countries that are less fortunate than ours.
Do a little research and you will be surprised.
His first business failed and he made several huge mistakes whilst growing Microsoft into a global leading tech company.
Take for instance by the time Google came onto the scene in 1998, Microsoft was already ruling the tech world but he failed to realise it at the time.
But he could have created a search engine that could have excelled Google.
But as it is, Bing only takes around 2.5% of the search engine marketplace whereas Google dominates with 94%.
What about Gates propping up Apple in 1997 with an investment of $150 million when Apple was going bankrupt.
That helped Apple become the biggest tech company on the planet.
Colonel Sanders
I’m sure we all know Colonel Sanders as the person who created the Kentucky Fried Chicken empire.
But he didn’t get there by chance and went through many failures.
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- Worked on the railways but got fired
- Become a lawyer but got fired for fighting in court
- Selling insurance but got fired for subordinate behaviour
- Ran a ferry boat company but runs into trouble
- Started a gas lamp company but failed due to electricity being invented
- Fired from selling car tyres
- First gas station wiped out by the great depression
The list just goes on…
From the age of 22 until he reached the ripe old age of 62 when people should be retiring, Sanders failed in everything he did.
Until he started the first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise.
Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey spent his early life living in a car with his family after his father lost his job.
All the family took it, in turn, to work as janitors at a factory and then spent time living in a tent from place to place.
His career as a stand-up comedian was a disaster when he got booed off the stage.
But he never let those hard times get to him and dreamed of better things, in fact, he was a big dreamer.
So much so that he wrote himself a cheque for $10 million dollars and stuck it in his wallet and dated it thanksgiving 95′.
He gave himself 5 years so this was around 90′ when he dated the cheque and just before thanksgiving 95′ found out the film Dumb and Dumber was going to make him $10 million.
Warren Buffet
We all know that Warren Buffet is one of the richest persons on the planet but did you know he got rejected when he tried to get into Harvard.
He states in his autobiography that was the best thing that happened to him but he obviously didn’t know that at the time.
What it allowed him to do was seek out 2 professors who had heard great things about him through reading their books.
So he applied to Columbia and got in.
Through the years he has made many mistakes through bad investments.
JK Rowling
We all know about the Harry Potter books and the successful film but prior to anybody even knowing her she was clinically depressed and struggling.
5 years before the Harry Potter books she was contemplating suicide due to the fact that she thought of herself as a failure.
She sought help and found that writing became her outlet and whilst still on benefits got down to writing the Potter series.
So Why Am I Telling You About The Fortunes Of The Mega Rich?
Simply to point out the fact that failure is with us all no matter who you are but some let it dictate who and what they are.
Whilst some grab it and use it like a launch pad to better things.
It’s OK to fail because it is just something that we can’t ignore and get away from but it is what you do with that failure that can make or break you.
Just look at Colonel Sanders, he failed all the way through his life up to the point where he should have been retiring.
But keep trying and pushing forward and eventually, something good will happen but don’t do that and you will never know your full potential.
We Are Constantly Fighting Our Negative Side
What on earth does that even mean?
Maybe you have heard it and maybe you haven’t but we do have a negative side to our being which is more prominent than the positive side.
We all have doubts which creates a fear of failing and so easy to listen and accept what our inner self is saying.
There are many ways of dealing with that and one of the best ways I find is meditating, you may laugh but take it from me it does work.
It may not at first because you will wonder what it is that you are doing in the first place.
You may not even think that anything is happening but after 1 or maybe 2 weeks you will know.
Having the right mindset is extremely important for our health, meaning and confidence and meditating is just one method.
Why Failure Is Important For Success – Final Conclusion
Understand that failure is important for our success is a part of who we are and allows us to grow and turns us into who we are.
Successful people fail all the time and the ones who are more successful are the ones who learn from their failures.
Ignore those voices that are chipping away at you and no you aren’t going crazy, it’s good to talk to ourselves.
Take for instance a mother and her newly born baby, we all know it will fall over, time and time again because we have all been there.
Mind you we might not have remembered it!
Ask the mother and she will automatically tell you that at some point that baby will eventually learn to walk.
Whatever it is in life that you want to try, don’t put it on hold and say “I’ll try that next week”.
Just do it and remember, it is OK to fall flat on your face (just like the baby) but get up and try again.
Learn from your mistakes otherwise, the same thing will happen again, right?
Remember, when you next see someone drive past in that Ferarri, tell yourself they will have failed possibly many times.
Take a friend of mine, he started a software business many years ago and ended up becoming a millionaire.
That business failed and he lost everything but what did he do?
He started another business and achieved success and guess what that company failed too.
He failed 2 times and eventually found real success but how did he do that?
He failed numerous times but he learned from those failures.
The point of that tale is don’t give up and learn from your failures, you will surely become a better person in life.
Remember to not look at failure as a step in the wrong direction, it’s a stepping stone to success.
Do Not Listen To The Naysayers
One of the biggest hurdles is when you are trying to achieve some form of success, whether it’s a new business or a change in your career.
Is the naysayers, the ones who tell you that you shouldn’t or can’t do something.
These are the people who haven’t found their full potential because they decided to play it safe.
The last thing you want to hear is someone telling you that your great idea is a non-starter.
That’s why people who are having success or aiming for it always suggest that you surround yourself with successful people.
Take care!
Stay safe!
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