If success is the steady progress toward your own personal goals, what is failure? Is failure working on a project that ends with poor results? No, of course not. Is failure launching a new product that fails miserably in the marketplace? No, of course not. Is failure doing the best you possibly can with your kids and then having them disappoint you in a very personal way? No, of course not.
There’s no failure in pouring your heart, soul, and energy into something that doesn’t work. Rather, failure is not trying at all. If success is the steady progress toward your own personal goals, then failure is no progress at all.
Success and failure are always linked together. Success is doing. Failure is not doing. It’s that simple.
World-renowned author and management expert Tom Peters said, “There is only one way to be in serious trouble today and that is not to be trying, not to be failing, not to be stretching yourself.”
Activity is a high priority in the life process. We need to try to get the maximum benefit out of what we have available–our resources, our skills, our knowledge, and our talents. Benjamin Disraeli, former Prime Minister of England, once said, “Nothing can resist a human will that will stake its very existence on its purpose.” What a powerful set of words.
What is the formula for disaster? “Could, should, don’t.” Here’s the formula for fortune: “Could, should, will.”
A man says, “I will climb the mountain.” People say, “It’s too high. It’s too difficult. It’s too rocky. It’s never been done before.” The man says, “Hey, it’s my mountain. I’ll climb it. Pretty soon you’ll see me either waving from the top or dead on the side. I’m not coming back until I’ve done it.” That’s powerful.
There are several studies that show the greatest achievers aren’t those who fail the least. The greatest achievers are those least frightened of failure. They’re willing to take on the challenge without the guarantee of success. They have the desired end in sight, but they’re not sure when it will be or where it will be.
Although success and failure go hand-in-hand, many people have a problem with failure. They think it is a bad word, that it has a bad connotation. They don’t see it as a stepping stone. They see it as an end result. Quite often, success requires failure. Sometimes, it demands many failures. In every scientific discovery, there were dozens or hundreds of failures before one success. Without failure, opportunity cannot be created. Without failure, there can be no success.
* Source: Leading an Inspired Life by Jim Rohn