Failure is often viewed as negative because our education system is built to discourage failure. If you take a risk and get a bad result, you failed! Conformity is the rule and divergent thinking is not encouraged. But reality shows it is difficult to succeed without taking risks.
Just look at these “Losers”:
1. Thomas Edison reportedly failed 3,000 times before… inventing the world-changing electric light bulb!
2. Henry Ford went bankrupt before… Ford Motor Company became a success!
3. Larry Ellison was close to bankruptcy and took the risk to mortgage everything he possessed before… Oracle took off!
4. Fred Smith received a failing grade in business school for his business plan which… is now FedEx!
5. Colonel Sanders found himself broke at age 65 before… KFC succeeded!
Are they “Losers”? Certainly not! But back then, they were considered to be one. But they understood that the key to success is taking risks and failing before you succeed. But most people try to minimize failure in their life, so they don’t take risks. Successful people don’t fear failure but understand that it’s necessary to learn and grow from such failures and come back even stronger.
Sven Franssen