“Yes!!!” she screamed, as she walked out of the building where she had just had her second interview. Sammie obviously felt confident about nailing the interview because she badly wanted the job, that particular one.
She had already seen herself wearing really expensive pant suits and scurrying from the bottom floor to the top of the building with plenty important white papers, wearing dashing, killer 6-inch heel shoes.
Besides, the interview went the way she had wanted. She had eloquent and thoughtful responses for every single question the interviewer sent her way. He had laughed at her jokes and the interview was quite the chatty one. They had even bonded over their love for cooking or something of that nature that the male interviewer loved to do in the kitchen. In fact, Sammie was finally convinced the interview was her final bus-stop to a job search.
Needless to say, the job position was not Sammie’s to have. It was even made worse by the nice tone used to convey the rejection message, “We really liked you, but there were many qualified candidates to select from. It was a pleasure meeting you and we wish you success in your future ambitions”.
“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm” – Winston Churchill
The Truth?
None of us really knows what we’re doing. Yes — even Fortune 500 CEO’s and successful entrepreneurs. We’re all just putting our hands in things, and can only hope for the best.
One thing we – young or old, student or worker, male or female – all need to get through this journey called life is Courage. Courage is certainly required in this life. I say this because failure is such a huge part of living. It happens to the best and worst of us.
The problem?
Most people associate failure with complete defeat. Grades, scholarships, job interviews, careers, relationships/marriage, business. Once people fail one too many times, they become too discouraged to try allover again.
I’ve been there. In fact, I have felt like the worst failure many times that I know it’s not easy to simply read an article, slap on a dash of powder, fake a smile and try again. It’s not that simple to avoid falling and feeling the pain but it’s necessary to get your back off the ground and try again.
Today, I would never take my failures back. I would never unwind the clock and do it all over again. I would never undo my failures. I can almost assure you that the most successful people in the world wouldn’t do so either. While failure hurts at the time, it’s part of life’s design – a divine chisel.
Keep these lessons in mind. Because, no matter what it feels like, that torturous brush with failure was really good for something.
1. Success or failure is dependent upon whether or not you CONTINUE
Everyone fails. It’s an inevitable part of life. You won’t succeed at everything you try. You need only to look at history to see that failures always come before success and success before more success. The world’s greatest inventors didn’t succeed the first time out. Remember Thomas Edison’s light bulb story? Neither did the renowned architects, engineers, automotive designers, chefs, painters, photographers, politicians, ever get it right the first time. They stumbled and fell, sifted through the failed experience and went on to devise and create something better, stronger, more durable, memorable and valuable. For them, failure wasn’t the end, but the beginning of a journey to success.
You likely have tons of great qualities that make you an awesome person and employee. But, of all of these, persistence is the one that’s going to get you the furthest in your career. Because you won’t ever get anywhere if you insist on staying stuck in one place. Continue trying and trying. If you don’t reach the sky,you’ll land on the stars.
2. Failure improves your perspective on finance
Every major failure helps you look at money in a different way. Whether you fail at marriage, business, relationships, or anything else. I know it did for me. You’re forced to improve your perspective on all things money-related.
All of the decisions we make in life have an impact on our bottom line. When we disrespect money and treat it with wonton disregard, it brings the potential for failure closer. When you add things like gambling, alcohol, and other addictions to the mix, it only amplifies your chances for failure.
But through each successive failure, I improved my perspective on money. I learned to respect it and treat with care, rather than spending it with disregard. As long as you can improve through each successive failure, then you’ve created a stronger platform for eventual success and wealth in the future.
3. Failure should help your humility
Since everyone fails, there’s something universal about what the experience does for us. While painful, every failure helps keep us humble. If we remain bullheaded in our approach, determined to prove ourselves right no matter the consequences, we’ll not only miss the humility learning experience, we’ll likely continue to experience failure without absorbing any of its other valuable lessons.
4. Failure shapes what you value
One of the biggest lessons that we can learn from life’s failures is the need to have and spread an exceedingly high amount of value. In fact, value lies at the heart of success and a lack of value is a fundamental pillar to failure.
When you find value in the wrong things, success can be fleeting. It’s easier to give up. But, when your values are in order, you can happily succeed rather than succeeding to be happy. So, what does it exactly mean to value the right things?
Whenever we’re focused on taking something from the world or other people, failure is only a moment away. But, when our values change to ones based on contribution, and giving more to the world than we receive, a monumental tectonic shift occurs.
5. The people beside you when you fail are ‘your people’
The most important lesson gained from failure is experience and with experience, I learnt what/who was important and what/who wasn’t. Watch closely. Observe those who offer you suggestion and advice, those who scold you and those that outrightly throw a load of scum your way. You may need to find out whom to trust among your circle of influence because who is close to your ear may determine how you pick up from a failure.
Henry Ford is quoted as saying, “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” Thomas Edison would definitely agree. You’ve just learned all the wrong ways toward that particular success, as Edison did with the “ten thousand” wrong attempts at creating the lightbulb. Every lesson learned, every failure, is a movement in the right direction.
This post was last modified on August 3, 2022 6:14 pm
