It’s Not Failure – It’s a Result!

Failure is an event, not a person.

-Zig Ziglar

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

-Confucius

Give Yourself Freedom to Fail

Where does failure live? Does it have an address? When was it born? Who are failures parents? All of the above questions are absurd! Like the inspirational speaker and author Zig Ziglar states: “Failure is only an event.” Nothing else. If it becomes anything more than that, it’s only because you have decided to make it more. You see, friend, there is not a single person alive who has not experienced the painful event of failure.

When I was in college, I took a business statistics class that was so difficult for me that I would have nightmares about it. I found myself waking up in the middle of the night because I was having a terrible dream about some of the formulas and theories that I had to know for exams and projects. I had never studied so hard for a class only to fail miserably on ever exam, except one. (That’s right, I only passed one exam the entire course, and on the one that I did pass, I think the professor passed me only because he felt sorry for me).

When my semester grades arrived in the mail, I immediately looked for my statistics grade and there it was—a giant D. That’s right, a D. My attendance and daily assignments landed me the passing grade. If you’d seen my reaction upon discovering this, you would have thought I just made the dean’s list. I was jumping up and down, racing around my house. You may be wondering how anyone could be so ecstatic about a D, one grade above failing. In many people’s eyes, this would be considered failure. But not in my eyes, because God knows I gave that class every ounce of energy and focus that I could muster. When you put all you’ve got into something, what more can you give? Failure is inevitable in one’s quest for success. I may have received a D for that statistics class, but the education that I received about myself was priceless. I’ve learned that failure serves as a strong foundation for success when you allow these trying times to teach you.

Failure simply tells you what doesn’t work?

Have you ever tried to open your car door with very little light and your hands are somewhat full. You try one key after another until you find the correct one. You open the door put in your things and you’re on your way. Most people wouldn’t stop trying only after one or two failures from their keys. They would keep trying because with each “failure” they know that they are getting closer to their desired outcome. In other words failure is simply finding out which key doesn’t work.

Others will Remind You

Anytime you attempt “BIG” things in life you have to be prepared to deal with people. You see, people are often the main reasons that many people quit after receiving feedback from failure. These people hardly ever fail because they rarely attempt anything “BIG” so to avoid failure. The thing that you have to remember is that if you’re failing then your at least doing something; unlike those pitiful souls that attempt nothing at all!

Look for Answers

A fantastic way to deal with failure (feedback) is to seek answers from the situation. You can always find answers if you look hard enough. As a former athlete I always looked the hardest after a loss because you can learn more in a loss than you can in a win but you can’t be afraid of what you’ll find. Be diligent and aggressive in finding answers during failure.