Take out a compass, draw a circle. Now zoom in. Zoom in a bit more.
Zoom in some more.
You noticed it too right? It’s not perfect.
Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, Michael Jordan, Jack Ma, Lady Gaga, Steve Jobs, Sylvester Stallone, Ben Carson. All failures.
Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star because his editor felt he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas”.
Colonel Sanders founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) reportedly failed over 1,000 times to sell his chicken recipe. It wasn’t until his 1,010th time in trying to sell the recipe that he got someone to bite–and the rest is history. Had Sanders decided to give up after hearing his 10th, 100th, or even 1,000th “no” the fast food industry would be a very different landscape today.
Oprah Winfrey was told she didn’t have the face for TV.
I was once told I lack the physical attributes to be a good defender. I went on to become one of the most decorated defenders in school winning every single major trophy!
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
-Michael Jordan
Even though a compass is used to draw the circle it’ll still not be perfect because it is controlled by a human. We are simply not perfect and by default, will fail. What matters is our response.
Imagine a baby, no not a baby…your baby, (it’s important you picture this part in your mind as you read) imagine your baby is learning to walk and falls down and he stays down…FOREVER!
Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, Sander, Disney, Thomas, Carson, Michael Jordan etc. These great people succeeded because they stood up.
And I know the challenges of adulthood might seem a lot more complex than learning to walk but really, what other option do you have?
How to get more failures?
You know that new thing you always wanted to try out? Do it today. The thing you’re already doing? Do more if it. Draw a circle. Then another. And another. Draw more and more without any care in the world for if they’re going to be perfect or not!
Fail, but fail forward.
Failure is a lesson. Failure leaves clues. Failure creates a new path. So if you’ve been told no it’s time to move to the next one. It’s not the end because effort never dies.
If you liked this article you’ll also enjoy reading: It’s Not Over.
