Sustainable Excellence Xtras # 126 - The Importance Of Being Open To Failure

How often do you fail? How often do you try to fail?

Most people would tell you that failure isn't something they strive for. However, failure and mistakes are key elements of achievement and success.

As a matter of fact, the road to success is paved with failure. If you're not failing, you're not trying new things, and as a result, you're not growing and improving.

When we fail, we should look for the lesson we were supposed to learn from that failure.

One of the most famous quotes from the inventor of the light bulb, Thomas Edison, is, "I have not failed 1000 times in inventing the light bulb. The light bulb was an invention with 1000 steps."

Failure creates a unique opportunity for personal growth and development. It also provides us the opportunity to explore new ways of creating.

I've understood the importance of learning from failure throughout my life. I believe failure is so important to success that I dedicated an entire chapter in my book, Sustainable Excellence. The chapter is entitled, "Fail Often, Especially When You Are Young."

Most of us read or had read to us when we were children, some of the more than sixty books written  by the beloved children's author, Dr. Seuss. But, did you know that his first book, And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, was rejected twenty-seven times before it was picked up for publication? 

We cannot overestimate the importance of failure in the learning process. If you are willing to embrace your mistakes, you will more likely develop a growth mindset that can lead you down the road to success.

Please check out the short video below about the failure one author experienced that almost caused her to give up.

Also, please leave me a comment about the role mistakes and failures have played in the successes you have experienced in your life.