Nowadays, everyone is competing and the only thing that matters is succeeding. Moreover, people try to run from its opposite, failure, which is sometimes perceived as a hurdle to overcome before succeeding.
Yet, is failing such a big deal? Its always a catastrophe since it might give a chance to think about our perception of failure.
Though most people think that failure is the opposite of success, its more of a part of succeeding, and an integral at that. You dont have to escape failure. Accept it instead since it can teach how to be better later on in your life.
Failure cant be avoided, so think of it as a critical part of moving forward.
Though the majority runs from failure, some businesspeople are smarter than that. In fact, those who achieved the most admit that they owe their great results to perseverance after failing. Actually, an average of 3.8 failed projects is necessary for businesspeople to launch a successful business eventually.
These businesspeople realize that even in case of failure, their situation will be better than it has been before. Yet if they got afraid of failing and chose to stop at the beginning, they would have no results whatsoever.
In reality, one setback doesnt mean the end of the journey. Take for example a marketing executive, Sergio Zyman, who worked at Coca-Cola in the 1980s. His new Diet Coke range enjoyed immense popularity.
This achievement improved Zymans position in the company and increased his confidence about his bold ideas. Thus, when Coca-Cola wished to propose a new Coke formula, Zyman offered the name New Coke for it. He was so sure of its success that persuaded Coca-Cola to cease the production of the old version.
Imagine Zymans surprise when New Coke turned out to be a total failure. The new product didnt sell, which resulted in the company losing about $100 million and Zyman losing his job. In order to save the situation, Coca-Cola started producing their flagship beverage again though under the name Coca-Cola Classic.
In the end, Coca-Cola Classic gained immense popularity. In fact, its success was unprecedented. In the long run, Zymans failure allowed Coca-Cola to raise its brand to the new heights. In fact, Zyman got his job back in 1993 thanks to Roberto Goizueta, Coca-Colas chairman, who admitted that even the best among us could make mistakes.
Failure opens up new opportunities.
Though most of us usually believe failure produces only bad results, its often not the case. In fact, failures led to a number of new findings and possibilities. Take for example a great inventor Thomas Edison.
For years, Edison tried to advance the telegraph machine with little progress. However, he came up with something totally different. Some altering of his unsuccessful telegraph machines allowed him to record sound and play on repeat.
Thus, the inventors failure in one endeavor turned out to be a chance to succeed elsewhere. William Marston, an author of the 20th century, termed such Edison-like phenomena drawing dividends from failure. Marston was both an inventor and a psychologist and thought such capability instrumental to success.
Apart from allowing us to see new opportunities, failure may encourage a person to introduce some changes in their lives and work harder. Take, for example, Bernie Marcus, a billionaire founder of Home Depot. Because of some internal conflicts, he was dismissed from the position of CEO of hardware chain Handy Dan in 1978.
The situation was worse than usual because Marcuss parents depended on his sons income. Marcus vowed never to get involved in corporate power struggles ever again. Arthur Blank was his colleague who had been fired from Handy Dan like Marcus. A year later, they launched their own hardware store, Home Depot, which is now regarded as one of the greatest and most successful retail projects ever existed.
You might not be to blame for your failures, but you are responsible for your successes.
Usually, we fail because of something, over which we dont have power. Thats why we shouldnt accuse ourselves of anything but rather focus on our duty to get another solution.
For example, the supermarket of Greg Horn, the authors friend, got destroyed because of Kentucky floods in 1997. The irony of the situation was that Horn insured his property against nearly all types of damage or theft, but not the flood.
Cleary, Horn didnt have power over the floods. Yet, the trouble didnt discourage him. He refused to back down and decided to take responsibility and rebuild his store as soon as possible.
In fact, Horn went on supporting his workers, all 80 of them, and began to work on his store, on the restoration of which he spent $1 million. Yet, he managed to open his store again mere 21 days after the disaster.
Horns example demonstrates we build our future ourselves, that is when we take responsibility for our actions and their consequences. There is one more story, this time, about an American tennis player Roger Crawford. Crawford suffers from ectrodactylism, which means he lacks some of his fingers and toes since the day he was born.
Crawford decided that despite his condition, he still had to take responsibility for his future. Therefore, he pursued his ambition of becoming a tennis professional. In the end, he became the first American tennis player with a disability receiving the American Professional Tennis Associations certification.
Crawford says that taking responsibility for his own life is what allows him to succeed. It was not the case for a man with ectrodactylism he knew. The mans attitude was different from Crawfords: he viewed himself as a victim of unfairness and was angry with the world, which hindered his chances of success.
Turning failure into knowledge is instrumental to success.
Can you imagine beginning something new planning to fail? Guess not since the majority of us want always to get good results. However, failing often entails gaining valuable experience or even motivation.
Art and Fear, a 1993 book by David Bayles and Ted Orland has a great funny story demonstrating the power of accepting failure: a teacher divides her ceramics class into two groups telling one to produce as many pieces of art as possible since the quantity will determine their grade. She tells the other half to make one piece, the grade for which will be based on its quality.
The first group achieved better results though the second one spent more time on a single piece of art. The reason for that is the chance of learning from experience and mistakes that these students had. Thus, they could enhance their skills as well as creativity.
Most importantly, failure teaches people only when they choose to analyze it, which is clearly expressed in the comic strip Peanuts.
At the beach, Charlie Brown builds a sand castle, which gets destroyed by a wave. He looks down at the castles remains and understands that there is a lesson to be learned here yet, he does nothing to work it out.
There are many Charlie Browns, who convince themselves there is no time or need to get to the bottom of their failures. Yet, it will only result in making similar mistakes. Determining the reason behind a failure helps us learn and grow or build sand castles a bit further from the water like in the case of Charlie Brown.
Overcoming our fear of failure and taking new risks brings long-term success.
Do you catch green lights all the time while driving? Guess not that often, but it doesnt matter since its only a part of driving. Our life would definitely be different if we viewed our failures as those red lights. They are only brief hindrances, which dont mean we should abandon our journey.
Failing may discourage sometimes, but it doesnt have to this way. Fear cripples a person and interferes with success, which means its vital always to continue fighting it.
You have probably heard about Amelia Earhart, an American aviation pioneer. She tried to fly around the equator, but her takeoff resulted in her planes crashing. Nevertheless, she did not stop pursuing flying as a career. In the end, she established six world records, one of them being the first woman aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic.
People can also find comfort in the fact that they defeat the fear of failure in everyday activities. For example, though driving is dangerous, we still do it. Ironically, being afraid to drive because of possible accidents and choosing to cycle or stay home can be even more dangerous: about 15% of accidents causing trauma are associated with cycling and 17%, with activities at home.
We also have a chance to defeat our fear of failing and do something at our workplaces. Offering to bear more responsibility or voicing a bold plan are some of the good ways to face your fear as well as win your teams recognition.
In contrast, when you avoid risks, your team might think that youre humble or, worse, indifferent and passive. Risking doesnt always mean failing, but if you accept it, your chances to succeed in the future improve significantly.
To make the most of opportunities for success, you need clear goals, social skills and a positive mindset.
Youll have more possibilities to achieve great results when you learn to accept and beat failure. Yet, you will be required to practice goal-setting, communication skills, and positive attitude in order to make the most out these possibilities.
Don Marquis, an American writer, noticed that most people make great effort even though they dont really know what they want to achieve. The key to succeeding is directing this need for change into clear goals. Thus, dont grumble about exhaustion, just come up with such goals that would help you develop a better way of life. For instance, you might put some money into property to get passive income in order to be able to retire early.
Apart from setting goals, you need excellent people skills to achieve greatness. Nowadays, the majority of projects, positions, and objectives are connected to the ability to organize sponsors, stakeholders, workers, and teams. Enhancing your skills of effective communication and negotiation will allow you to convince your peers to provide support as well as to get new possibilities to realize your dreams.
Last but not least is keeping up positive thinking, which provides a greater chance of success right away. Valuing even the worst challenges can determine whether you back down or continue to fight. Once, W. Clement Stone, an American author, recounted a story about a girl who moved across America to be with her husband but became discontent with the new life.
Her mother sent her a letter where she told her daughter a funny story about two men in jail. One guy saw mud when looking up, and the other, the starry sky. The girl figured she could change her attitude toward the situation if not the situation itself. Developing positive thinking allowed her to see new possibilities, which she couldnt do before because of her discontent.
Final Summary
At some point in life, everyone fails, but it can bring positive results. It may lead us to new ideas, prompt us to try our best, show our flaws, and present new interesting possibilities. Setting definite objectives, keeping up positive attitude, and accepting failure are instrumental to succeeding.
A piece of advice
Find some motivating and inspiring stories about people who failed but learned from it.
Have you got a writer or an executive who has been motivating others for a year or, maybe, a century? You may become affected by their achievements, but look up some of the failures of your hero. While it provides an insight into the nature of their achievements, their mistakes may teach you something important as well.