We all deal with frustrations, rejection, and disappointments. It certainly does not feel good, but what matters is how we react to and learn from them.
When things don’t go the way you desire, what behaviors do you exhibit? Granted there are varying degrees of failure, but are you more inclined to rise to the occasion and face the challenge head on, are you more inclined to retreat, or do you re-evaluate the experience and revise or create new aspirations?
A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure
may turn to glorious success.
–Elbert Hubbard
Failures That Turned to Glorious Successes
Abraham Lincoln
- Experienced 12 major failures before being elected the 16th President of the U.S.
Albert Einstein
- His teachers said “he wouldn’t amount to much.”
Ludwig van Beethoven
- Beethoven’s music teacher once said “as a composer, he is hopeless.”
Steve Jobs
- He felt he was a public failure when he was fired from Apple.
Michael Jordan
- Was cut from his high school basketball team because of his “lack of skill.”
John Grisham
- His first novel was rejected by sixteen agents and twelve publishing houses.
Walt Disney
- Was fired from a newspaper for his lack of imagination.
The Beatles
- In 1962, they were told they “had no future in show business” and that “groups with guitars are on the way out.”
We can dream, but we must also be realistic.
Self awareness is important. What are your strengths? Can they be further developed?
Passion is critical! What are your aspirations? Do you have a plan in place?
What barriers are getting in your way? What help do you need to navigate around them?
Persistence is a behavior exhibited by the successful; that’s why effective leaders never give up or give in! How persistent are you?