When we see successful people, it often seems like they took the world by storm and accomplished their dreams suddenly. The public doesn’t know everything that happened behind the scenes over the course of ten, twenty, thirty, or even forty years in order for this leader to achieve greatness. What was this person doing before they became visible to the public on a grand scale? Persevering, that’s what!
Overnight success usually doesn’t happen. You can see examples from all sorts of different people who have accomplished great and wonderful things in their lives; they’ve faced difficulties, overcome challenges, and had to keep going and fighting for their dreams even when it seemed impossible to reach them.
There’s a lot to be said for those who refuse to give up no matter how many attempts must be made. The most famous example, of course, is that of Thomas Edison, who took 1,000 tries to invent the prototype for the light bulb. When asked about failing 1,000 times, he replied, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”
Being a mindful leader means realizing and moving past several aspects of failure that most people may realize but not have the audacity to face anyway. This is unfortunate, as there are no biological or genetic factors that make leaders different from those who live an unfulfilled life of mediocrity. My goal with this article is to help you realize that you have greatness within you... it’s just a matter of letting it out and allowing yourself the opportunity to run with it.
Why Failure is Actually a Good Thing
1. Failure is an opportunity. It is an opportunity to learn, to build your strength, and to develop resilience. It is also an opportunity to strengthen your resolve as well as reevaluate how you go about following your dreams and achieving your goals.
2. Failure is the most effective teacher available. The experience of failing can either make you cower and give up, or it can serve as a tool for the next try. What did you do this time? Why didn’t it work? Can you build on it? And if so, how? Brainstorm, learn, and innovate!
3. Failure does not reflect on you as a person. Just because you didn’t succeed this time doesn’t mean you will never succeed; just because you failed the first attempt does not mean you will fail forever. Yes, sometimes it takes numerous tries, projects, or marketing plans to get there... but imagine how amazing your success will feel after you’ve learned so much and given it your all. Most importantly, you do not become a failure; you simply experience it.
4. Failure makes you more persistent... if you let it. There are a number of quotes out there from highly successful people that tell us that inspiration or talent only represent about 10% of success. The other 90% is achieved by sheer determination and persistence. By realizing this and that it isn’t different for successful people, consider this... is your goal, your dream, worth pursuing with perseverance for ten, twenty, or thirty years, even if you fail again and again? If you’re passionate about your dreams, chances are you can make the commitment to persist for a lifetime.
5. Failure helps you be more resilient. The first time you fail at something, it can be very difficult and painful. Growing up, we’ve all known a kid who seems to be good at everything they do. Sports, school, acting, singing, playing an instrument, talking to people, speaking in front of people, writing... you name it. They try it and they succeed. Imagine, then, when they reach high school or college and suddenly fail at something for the first time in their lives. The absolute shock it must cause them! It could take months for them to bounce back from a failure like that because they never learned how to fail forward as a child. Therefore, if you’ve failed a few times and are at a point in your life where it no longer breaks your heart or cripples you, consider yourself blessed... and keep going.
Making mistakes is part of life. There has never been anyone who has gone through their entire life without making a single mistake. People are flawed by nature; we mess up, we say and do things that are inappropriate or hurtful, we embarrass ourselves, and we disappoint ourselves and others.
However, we always recover, one way or another. We always go on, life always goes on, and we don’t want to get left behind... nor do we want to feel more regret than happiness when we reach the end of our earthly journey.
Failure is not the problem... giving up is. No matter what your goals or dreams, your most valuable tool is perseverance and determination. Don’t give up when your very next attempt might yield the results you’ve been seeking!
