Have you ever been afraid of failure? Do you think that successful people have never failed in their lives?
Failing for the first time can be nerve-wracking and it hurts all the more when it is something you care about. Be it an exam, a relationship, an interview or a startup, the way to deal with failure remains the same.
Nobody becomes successful before tasting the nectar of failure, a bitter one, full of lessons.
Failure is not a step backwards unless you let it pull you back.
Instead of giving you a numbered list about how and why failure is important for you, let me give you examples of two game-changers from contrasting career paths.
1) Thomas Edison
Well, Thomas Edison was unsuccessful 9,999 times in refining the light bulb. Imagine that!
He spent hundreds of hours and sleepless nights 9,999 times on refining a product, not even inventing it. That’s how hungry he was to succeed.
He only succeeded on his 10,000th attempt. Thomas kept going because he never conceded defeat. He even refused to say that he had failed during all those attempts.
Instead, he said that “I have not failed. I have just found 9,999 ways that do not work.”
That’s a prime example of winning mentality there. Only few would have the energy and will to go on despite uncountable setbacks and he was one of them.
2) Michael Jordan
If you want a more recent example and role model, then just look at Michael Jordan. He is undoubtedly the best player to set foot on a basketball court and he has failed more times than anyone else.
What makes him even more legendary is the fact that he openly spoke about his failures in a famous Nike ad-campaign where he is quoted as saying that he has:
a) Lost almost 300 games (that’s more games than many NBA players have court time in)
b) Missed over 9,000 shots at goal (again more shots than an average NBA player even takes)
c) 26 times he was given the ball to take the game winning shot and MISSED
Now how do you think that Michael Jordan still became the greatest in this sport?
Unwavering work ethic and positive outlook on how to deal with failure.
That’s what separates him from the pack. Michael always views failure as a stepping stone to success in all fields of his life, not just basketball.
Written by Gagan Dhawan
