Take a moment and think about some of your biggest failures. How did you feel? What did you do? Where did you go from there?
I think that for most of us the initial feeling is absolute despair. You put all your effort behind just to come up short. We begin to develop a fear of failure. We lose confidence.
What do we do next?
Keep that thought and check out this list of men I have compiled who were unsurpassed in success.
Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard and his first business failed.
Steve Jobs had 7 products that failed big time. Sound familiar? Apple Lisa, NeXT, ROKR, Power MAC G4 Cube … Exactly, unknown!
Einstein did not speak until he was 4 years old and could not read until he was 7.
Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, after more than 1000 failed attempts.
Winston Churchill failed the sixth grade and went on to lead England against Hitler in World War II.
Stephen Spielberg was rejected by USC 3 times and did not complete his bachelor’s degree until 2002
Stephen King’s novel “Carrie” was rejected 30 times and his wife took it out of the trash and had to convince him to send it one more time and the rest is history.
Soichiro Honda’s engine parts were initially rejected by Toyota for their poor quality … he returned to the drawing board, persevered, studied, and along the way founded Honda.
Walt Disney was rejected because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” His first business went bankrupt and even Mickey Mouse was initially scrapped because he would terrorize women.
What if these men didn’t keep trying? Look where the world is now because they got back up and took it one more round at a time. The great men of history have met failure, and they said “Never give up” and went on to make history.
“Our greatest glory is never to fail, but to get up every time we fail.” ~ Emerson
We may not be the next Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, or Stephen Spielberg. But in someone’s life we will be the difference because we never give up. Our goals may be different. Our different circumstances. Our lives are definitely different. One thing we all have in common is obstacles. Think of these as challenges you must face. If they knock you down, get back up. Over and over again if necessary. Face your fear and let it be a gift that will lead you to success.
Our lives are not defined by the challenges we face, but by how we respond to those challenges. ~ Jonathan Lockwood Huie
When I was 16, I was growing up in Tokyo and took a scooter test. I failed. I left embarrassed and never took it again – Fear of failure. I regretted this for years and wished I had the courage to go back and take it up again. However, this taught me something. Shame is much worse than failure.
When I was in the Army I participated in a 5 day competition with different events. One of them on the third day was a 12-mile ruck march through some German hills. I had my m16, some water, and 30-40 lb. wrinkle. At mile 11 and facing a hill, I couldn’t take a step without having leg cramps. My m16 then turned into a baton and I went up the hill and finished the event. However, he could have quit, not scoring points and still moving on to the next event. My motivation was Teddy Roosevelt’s “Man in the Sand” speech.
“Only those who will risk going too far will be able to discover how far they can go.” ~ TS Eliot
Go the extra mile, push your limits, take the risk knowing you can fail. If you give up today, you won’t know what would have happened tomorrow. We are all an influence in the world. We influence the lives of others. We make things happen. We are writing history.
“What does not start today never ends tomorrow.” ~ Goethe
You will be tempted to think, “It’s too difficult” or “You don’t understand what I’m dealing with.” Part of this is true. We are not in your shoes and we are not living your life. But we share the fear of failure. As men we must overcome this fear, remember who we are, put our gloves back on and say together: “Never, never give up!”
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he is in times of comfort and convenience, but where he is in times of challenge and controversy. ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
One of my favorite movie lines about “Shame” from “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story “
Lance Armstrong: … I think you’d better hurry or you’ll be late …
Vince Vaughn (Peter La Fleur): … uhh, I actually decided to quit, Lance …
Lance Armstrong: … quit … you know, I once thought about quitting when I was diagnosed with brain, lung and testicular cancer … all at the same time … but with the love and support of my friends and family I went back to riding my bike and won the Tour de France 5 times in a row, but I’m sure you have a good reason to quit … what are you dying of that prevents you from reaching the final?
Vince Vaughn: … right now it feels a little like, embarrassed …
Lance Armstrong: … well I guess if a person never gives up when the going gets tough, they will have nothing to regret for the rest of their life … but good luck Peter, I’m sure this decision won’t will haunt you forever …
