Leadership Lesson: The Wisdom of Failure

by B. Hyacinth; linkedin.com; 12/28/14

Looking back, as we approach another year end and tabulating whether my successes have been greater than my failures. It’s clear that failure has left its imprint.

The hardest blow came in the form of failing a major exam. The pain was crippling. It did knock me out for a bit. But in fact, how would you climb back on top of the saddle when the horse has flung you off: once your plans fall to pieces? Life will constantly test your resolve and level of commitment.

If only we might have patience dealing with our trials. Coping with rejection and apparent failure can be a serious matter. The tragic death of John Kennedy Toole (American novelist born in 1937) screams this truth. No publisher would touch Toole’s book. He began suffering from paranoia and depression. In a vain try to kill the pain, he committed suicide at the age of 31. Toole's novels were rejected during his lifetime. However, posthumously, he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1980.

If you focus on positive thinking, even harshest defeat is simply a stepping-stone.

Never let Success arrive at your Head. Never let Failure get to your Heart. “I didn’t get consumed by losses,” said the legendary NFL coach Don Shula, “and I didn’t get overwhelmed by successes.”

Many people have stifled our life by heeding some misguided critic who implied we were not sufficient. Few things in daily life are certain but failure is.

Failure seems as something to get avoided at all cost. Although it leaves a sour taste, we should embrace failure for your learning opportunity it's. Failure may be the oldest teacher, and perhaps the wisest of all of them. Some things are impossible to fully grasp without first falling down.

We live in a culture that values perfectionism and failure is often viewed as being a sign of weakness. People become so fixated on not failing that they can never move forward. When it comes to failing, our egos are our own worst enemies. It's easier to accept failure in private, but once the failure is clear to everyone surrounding you, it's becomes harder to accept it. Holding onto failures for way too long is destructive.

The Importance of Failure

It’s a learning Experience – Failure drives us to change. It represents opportunity and growth. It gives new direction. There is always one or more lessons to master in what you might see being a failure.

It builds Character – We learn how to behave if we finally accomplish our goals. The humility we gain through our failures allows us to better handle and appreciate success.

It allows you to Stronger – It’s with persistence we overcome failure to realize success . When people fail, they feel unaccomplished, and they also try again and again, until they finally reach success.

Your probability of Succeeding Increases – Failures include the pillars for success. You gain experiences you might not get any other way. Some things are only able to be learned through learning from your errors.

Failure is often a type of Freedom – Why? Because the worst has happened. Now, you can relax and rebuild again.

Success does not come easy. Everyone must face one hurdle after another. If you think that when you have the success you crave, you'll be able to relax, you might be sadly mistaken.

Failure will not be free, not just emotionally but financially at the same time. Some industries are very unforgiving as one or more failures may instantly allow you to get the boot. The worse thing now you may do, just isn't learn from failures.

In modern times, a growing number of executives have embraced the purpose of view, that failure is really a prerequisite to invention. The fastest way to achieve success,” IBM’s Thomas Watson, Sr., once said, “is to double your failure rate.” The growing acceptance of failure is changing just how companies approach innovation.

However, distinguishing between excusable and inexcusable failure is vital. Managing failure is the vital thing. Some mistakes are unpardonable for example producing and marketing a dysfunctional product brought on by poor quality control. Encouraging failure doesn’t mean abandoning or supervision or respect for sound practices. Managing for failure requires leaders to get more engaged, not less.

I want to share 20 Powerful Quotes on failure:

1. "You always pass failure on your journey to success." ~Mickey Rooney

2. "A failure is really a man who may have blundered, but isn't able to profit the experience." ~Elbert Hubbard

3. "Failure could be the tuition you pay for achievement." ~Walter Brunell

4. "Feeling sorry by yourself, along with your present condition is not merely a waste of energy though the worst habit you may possibly have. ~Dale Carnegie

5. "Success represents the 1% of your work which results from the 99% that is called failure." ~Soichiro Honda

6. "The season of failure will be the best time for sowing the seeds of success.” ~Paramahansa Yogananda

7. "Success just isn't built on success. It’s built on failure. It’s built on frustration. Sometimes it’s built on catastrophe." ~Sumner Redstone

8. "Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor." ~Truman Capote

9. "There is not any failure. Only feedback." ~Robert Allen

10. "Remember that failure is an event, not a person." ~Zig ziglar

11. "Failure will never overtake me if my determination to ensure success is sufficiently strong." ~Og Mandino

12. "Its fine to celebrate success but it really is more important to heed the lessons of failure." ~Bill Gates

13. "Do not be embarrassed from your failures, study on them and begin again." ~Richard Branson

14. "I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying." ~Michael Jordan

15." Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries by using it the seed of your equal or greater benefit." ~Napoleon Hill

16. "Failure is just the opportunity to begin again, now more intelligently." ~Henry Ford

17." My great concern isn't whether you might have failed, but whether you might be content with your failure." ~Abraham Lincoln

18. "I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is the one other step forward." ~Thomas Edison

19. "Never confuse an individual defeat with a final defeat. "~F. Scott Fitzgerald

20. Our best success often come after our greatest disappointments. ~Henry Ward Beecher

Finally, don’t allow fear of failure hold you back.

Remember to adopt risks: in case you win, you with thankful; if you lose, you'll be wise. Always find joy in your journey as George Bailey stated it best “It’s a Wonderful Life!”

I wish you the very best in life, success and prosperity for 2015 and onwards.