Fail Your Way To Success?

21 replies
Hey Warriors,

So I remember hearing this saying years ago and I thought that it was kind of a lame saying and never really paid much attention to it.

However, after being an entrepreneur for over a decade now, this saying really is more important than I realized.

Most people will go into a business thinking that they must succeed or else their life will be over. If the business bombs and they fail..then they think that is the end ...and they go back to finding a day job.

Wrong.

Thinking that you're gonna hit a home run your first time at bat....well think again.

I remember reading about Walt Disney and how that little company called Disney was on the verge of bankruptcy for 20 years. We all see it as this monster success now....but that wasn't always the case.

Instead, if you go into a business and discover the things that don't work and things that do work along the way...then your chances of success are that much better.

You fail your way to success by learning what does not work.

Then you take that knowledge and re-adjust your mindset and goals for your business.

One of my mentors back in the day, was this guy who was worth about $50 million. Like my own Rich Dad Poor Dad.

My mentor had this printing business and was making like a million a month and I thought he was a genius. However, after he took me under his wing and told me how he got to that level, well I thought he was joking.

Along the way to making this kind of income, he said he filed BK 3 times and lost it all many times over.

He said it took him a long time to figure out what worked and what didn't work. So when he failed at something, he took it as a learning experience and applied that to his business so he wouldn't make the same mistake again.

He failed his way to success.

And since then, I've met with numerous biz owners who all have similar stories about how they finally made a success out of their ventures.

What are your thoughts?
#fail #success
  • Profile picture of the author Spock1
    I've heard that we learn more from our failures than from our successes. Guess I'm pretty smart by now.
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  • Profile picture of the author chrisgoode
    I agree with you, I think one of the main reasons people don't succeed is because they are AFRAID to 'fail'. I wouldn't even call it failure, I would call it feedback. When a child is trying to walk and keeps falling down, how many parents tell that child to give in because they have failed. Yet the odds are, in their own lives they will fail and quit. As children we don't know the meaning of failure and we only learn it is something terrible as we grow older. What is that Michael Jordan quote?

    '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.'
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    • Profile picture of the author tylerjaysen
      Originally Posted by chrisgoode View Post


      '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.'

      Yea I remember him saying that....so true.

      Same goes with golf, football or any sport for that matter. Fail faster and you will succeed faster.
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  • Profile picture of the author danlew
    I'm afraid to "fail" in the past few years which keeps me struggling over and over again. I've learned from it, keep going and never give up to become successful. This is why I am having so much success right now, always learn from your failures and overcome it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chloe Emerson
    I think it's very true that we must learn from our failures in order to succeed. When we started school we didn't just pick up a pencil and begin to write a thesis. Trial and error, perseverance, and the ability to get back up when you fall down - those are things which make success.
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  • Profile picture of the author tjcreation
    Failure is definitely part of success. I have failed, started over, succeeded, failed, and just keep going. Overall, I've had more success than failure and I believe that's just part of life. Never be afraid of failure. Only be afraid of not trying.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jami Pagan
    Chances to your success are dependent on the quality of failures....
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  • Profile picture of the author DannyWood1983
    I love this idea. I remember hearing the immortal message that the way to succeed faster is to fail faster. And that really stuck with me :-)
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    • Profile picture of the author Joseph G Spiteri
      We are all going to fail at some point it's what you
      do when we fail that define use and propel use forward
      to greater success.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    Let's also keep in mind the facts of the rocket missions to the moon. 90% or more of the time, those rockets were off course--going the wrong way. And as we know, small errors at the beginning, drawn out over time, create huge mistakes in distances at the destination.

    Yet the rockets got there. So the takeaway is...?

    Course correction.

    Small engine burns redirect the craft on course.

    Yes we can fail our way to success. We learn what works, and what doesn't: we correct our course.
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    • Profile picture of the author SEO Addict
      Failure isn't a problem it's an opportunity for growth. You learn more (at least I do) from your failures than from your successes.

      It's how you deal with with failure that defines you as a person.
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      • Profile picture of the author heavysm
        Definitely the case for most online businesses unless you simply luck out and find the right track right away.

        SEO has been one of the biggest learning experiences for me. I failed countless times, literally hundreds counting every split test and mini experiment trying to find what works. It's really just part of the game.

        Of course you can always invest more of your money rather than time to find what works for others, but there is always some level of fail that we experience to find what works for us.
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  • Profile picture of the author zackick
    Originally Posted by tylerjaysen View Post

    Hey Warriors,

    So I remember hearing this saying years ago and I thought that it was kind of a lame saying and never really paid much attention to it.

    However, after being an entrepreneur for over a decade now, this saying really is more important than I realized.

    Most people will go into a business thinking that they must succeed or else their life will be over. If the business bombs and they fail..then they think that is the end ...and they go back to finding a day job.

    Wrong.

    Thinking that you're gonna hit a home run your first time at bat....well think again.

    I remember reading about Walt Disney and how that little company called Disney was on the verge of bankruptcy for 20 years. We all see it as this monster success now....but that wasn't always the case.

    Instead, if you go into a business and discover the things that don't work and things that do work along the way...then your chances of success are that much better.

    You fail your way to success by learning what does not work.

    Then you take that knowledge and re-adjust your mindset and goals for your business.

    One of my mentors back in the day, was this guy who was worth about $50 million. Like my own Rich Dad Poor Dad.

    My mentor had this printing business and was making like a million a month and I thought he was a genius. However, after he took me under his wing and told me how he got to that level, well I thought he was joking.

    Along the way to making this kind of income, he said he filed BK 3 times and lost it all many times over.

    He said it took him a long time to figure out what worked and what didn't work. So when he failed at something, he took it as a learning experience and applied that to his business so he wouldn't make the same mistake again.

    He failed his way to success.

    And since then, I've met with numerous biz owners who all have similar stories about how they finally made a success out of their ventures.

    What are your thoughts?
    it easy to say rather than check what is wrong with our action.
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  • Profile picture of the author paul_1
    This is always true... The surest way to success is to have the mindset of expecting to fail in the first few months or so and keep learning and keep repeating what works... As Les Brown said "Grow your Wings on your way down..."
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  • Profile picture of the author Dave Matthews
    This is what I keep in mind when things seem a bit on the tough side...

    It always seems impossible until it's done."

    - Nelson Mandela
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    • Profile picture of the author Hils
      My thoughts are it's all about thinking the right way, ie consistently believing in your goals and dreams.

      I've made so many mistakes I'm not afraid to fail again. But the too-many times I've failed, ultimately it's because I'd been focussing on the wrong things.

      Now I'm concentrating on goals that I can believe in - big dreams but not unrealistically big.
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  • Profile picture of the author GilAlcera
    I definitely agree with you on this. It is kind of hard to believe that this holds true but it definitely is the case. Not all successful businesses have experienced continuous success. This is an impossible thing for all. Perhaps some people may be under this gracious spell but to a majority it is not.

    The sad part here is that when businesses fail, people tend to look at it negatively and the stores whether online or offline eventually closes shop. Failure does not only pertain to what is happening to your business. It can happen to others and if you have seen the effects of other people’s way of doing business, that should have been taken into account and study from it.

    Study from the failures that others have experienced. Try to find out their stories and what they did trying to save their business. Observe yours as well. If your methodology is not working, then come up with Plan B before everything becomes too late.
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  • Profile picture of the author DanielMilstein
    what a nice post!!!! Indeed people normally see the successful people and think how lucky they are. But they do not realize that those people slogged hard for many years, facing one heart breaking obstacle after another before they become overnight success.
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  • Do you know the mechanism behind a guided missile or rocket hitting its target is failure? That's how guidance systems function. Correcting constant failures...

    Interesting little tid bit...

    Old Dog
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    P.S. If I can be of any assistance in your "Off" or "On"- line sales and marketing please PM me or email at WinnersChoice-Warrior@yahoo.com . Old Dog

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    • Profile picture of the author 2000rpm
      This is so true, my famous quote...
      Fail fast and Succeed Quicker, Many "Huge" Success's are built on many "Small" Failures.
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  • Profile picture of the author mattryan30
    Wow, its very inspiring to read this.I think thats what keeps many people from being successful is they fail once and they quit, because they think that they are a failure and not looking at the big picture.It seems like most of the successful people I know had to fail at least once to succeed.It was their positive attitude and dogged determination which got them to where they are at. I've heard the saying "You can't have any successes unless you can accept failure" and there's quite a bit of truth to it.
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    You only have one life to live.Don't withhold your chance to become successful by procrastinating! Take action... Now!

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