Yes I know; it's a pretty bold statement to declare that you can't experience success without knowing failure, but it is definitely something that I personally know to be true. I say that with conviction because it is one of those lessons that will at some point, come into your life. What you do with that failure experience, can contribute to your success or Heaven forbid, totally deplete you of confidence and create a life with a never-ending progression of disappointments, if you allow that to happen.
Failure is something that everyone I know has faced in some way, and at some time. It may be in a relationship gone wrong, a job or business that went bust, or simply not reaching a goal such as losing weight or finishing a course. No one gets away in this life without going through, and feeling the anguish of failing. But if you truly believe in yourself, failure is not a shameful badge to wear; it is just a stepping stone to success, and a very powerful stepping stone.
I have certainly had failures in my life, maybe more so than many people because I am a big risk taker. I am the kind of person who thinks and believes that I can do anything. That is a bit of a double-edged sword. It is good thing because I am open to experiment a variety of experiences and jobs and relationships, and that means gaining experience and learning lessons. It is troublesome because it means I can't do everything that I think I can, so I spend a lot of time spinning my wheels on things that aren't important, and yes, failing sometimes. To add to that, I don't give up easily, but I consider that to be strength as opposed to a weakness. I have learned to take failure into stride, but it wasn't always easy.
When you are undergoing some kind of failure in your life, you may feel incredulous that this could ever happen to you. I look at that reaction as not being aware of who you are, and where your capabilities lie, and recognizing that even you have some limits. If you have taken on a job that is way beyond your experience and you think you can handle it that is where trouble and lessons in life come into play. Failures can teach you and provide invaluable insight if you take the time to assess "the why and the where" you went wrong. Although it is good to reach for the stars when you have a goal, you better have the right medium to get you there. Failures mean gaining experience and alerting you to the fact that something important was missed along the way. So you need to understand what that is and why, and take that knowledge to create a better experience. When you apply what you learn from your mistakes and failures, that is what creates your foundation as a human being. It builds strength, character and infinite awareness. Those are the gifts of failure.
When I first entered the world of internet marketing many years ago, I assumed it would be a piece of cake for me because I had so many years of experience in high tech business and marketing. I literally exhausted almost two years with no success, and wasted a huge amount of money trying to prove to myself that I could easily make a success of it with a few tools, and without the benefit of learning and gaining an understanding that this kind of business is on a whole different level. I laugh at myself now when I think back to how naive I was about managing a business online. After all, I was a success in many high tech companies and held powerful positions, so really, how difficult could it be to move into the online world of business and marketing? Because of my mild arrogance, my first two online businesses failed miserably. I was unsuccessful and I had to face that unpleasant fact. It was one of the bitter failure pills that I had to learn to swallow. But with each failure pill I swallowed, I became aware that failing really isn't that bad. Failures and lessons were slowly but surely building me up for success. In fact, when I look back on my failures, I can clearly see why I was unsuccessful at certain things.
For me, any kind of failure just wasn't an option. I guess I believed that I would magically adapt to new things through osmosis. I was under the illusion that somehow without taking the time to learn new techniques and methods, everything that I needed to know would just seep in. I know that sounds ridiculous and it is, but that was what I believed. Success in one area does not guarantee success in another. That was another huge revelation that registered with me from one of my early failures. Some people call that an epiphany. It was an epiphany to me and it is something that I convey when coaching my clients. It has been an eye opener to many.
So my failures have led me to where I am today, and that is in a good place. I learned a lot of things about myself with each failure. Every failure brought a gift wrapped lesson to me and when I looked inside and applied the knowledge from those lessons to my next venture, my success began to rise. I became more aware and focused. Failures built up my character and perseverance and strengthened my will and resolve to always do better. It made me clearly aware of some of my flaws, but more importantly it highlighted my strengths.
We are human. We are fallible and we make mistakes and undergo some failures. That doesn't mean that you personally are a failure, it simply means that you haven't navigated through all the stepping stones to the specific success victory that is intended exclusively for you. So don't fear failure, because it can lead you straight to your success.
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