After reading this article’s headline, you’re probably thinking it sounds like a contradiction, right? How can you get motivated by someone who’s failed?
Well, let’s take a look at some famous failures. People like Walt Disney, Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison – all failures at one time in their lives.
Before Walt Disney revolutionized film animation, he was fired from a newspaper for having no imagination and no original ideas.
Steve Jobs, the man behind the iPhone, iTunes, and the iPad, was basically kicked out of his own company in the mid 1980’s Yet in 1996 he came back to Apple, saved the company, and made it what is today.
Thomas Edison failed over 10,000 times in attempting to make a light bulb that worked before he succeeded. Could you imagine failing 10,000 times before you reached your goal?
Now, I’m not saying that we have to be inventors like Edison. I’m the first to admit, although I can change a light bulb easy enough, if I were asked to make a light bulb from scratch I would be completely in the dark on how to do it …
Seriously, there is something we can learn from these guys. Something we can use, no matter what we choose to do with our lives. Each of these men had a crystal-clear vision of what they wanted to do. And they had the determination to follow through until they accomplished their goal, no matter how many failures they experienced.
They could have said it was too hard and gave up. But they didn’t. Because each of them knew that failure is actually a future success in disguise. Let me repeat that: failure is actually a future success in disguise. We have got to be looking for opportunity in failure.
When I speak with students in schools, we talk about how to discover, define, set and accomplish goals – even in the face of obstacles like failure. One of the key elements in the process is making one’s goal crystal clear with loads of details – because once we can see our goals clearly, we can move toward them and accomplish them.
You are capable of accomplishing great things in life – if you’re willing to do the work. Each of us is blessed with greatness. It’s our responsibility to use it.
And remember, you are not alone …
Related Links:
- Get Motivated by Successful Failures (Part 1)
- Make a Date with Destiny: Schedule a Deadline for Your Goals
- The Magic If: Do You Know What Your Future Looks Like?
- Life is Like a Cup of Coffee
Back to school doesn’t have to mean back to the same old daily grind. This is true whether you’re a kid or an adult. Fall is the start of a new season, and with it comes opportunity.