Don’t Let Failure Write Your Story

You are someone who doesn’t even like the idea of giving up. The thought of just failing at something makes your blood boil.

So if and when it happens, it’s deflating. However, failure isn’t the end. It’s actually the beginning.

Confucius said it best: “A man is not great because he hasn’t failed; a man is great because failure hasn’t stopped him.”

Too often, we look at failure as a final. But as Father Mike Schmitz reminded me years ago as a guest on The John Eades podcast, “Failure isn’t final, failure is feedback.”

The most successful leaders, athletes, and innovators have one thing in common: they refused to let failure write their story. They use it as fuel to forge progress.

Now this isn’t to say you should set out, accept, or even desire failure. However, what I am saying is that if you are doing anything worth doing, failure is probable. There are many talented people who share the same goals as you. Many problems have complicated solutions.

If something is easy, everyone does it. But the fruit is in the hard stuff: in marriage, in solving complex problems, in chasing championships. Failure may be possible, but perseverance makes greatness inevitable.

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