What Is Wrong with Failure?

I have crashed and burned several times in my life-in a race car, in business and in relationships. I have made some pretty major mistakes, and they have cost me a lot.  I used to really beat myself up over them. Now I realize the real cost was the time and energy I wasted on feeling sorry for myself or on not moving forward because I was so caught up in the past, where all my energies were focused.

Not until I was able to let go of the past and concentrate on today did I truly learn how to live. I learned to embrace the mistakes and failures as life lessons. I believe I may have created these challenges in my life to help me grow and to prepare myself to handle anything that comes my way. My failures have given me the strength to be successful.

From Portrait of an Achiever:

-1832 Failed in business: bankruptcy

-1832 Defeated for legislature

-1834 Failed in business: bankruptcy

-1835 Fiancé died

-1836 Nervous breakdown

-1838 Defeated in election

-1843 Defeated for U.S. Congress

-1848 Defeated for U.S. Congress

-1855 Defeated for U.S. Senate

-1856 Defeated for Vice President

-1858 Defeated for U.S. Senate

-1860 Abraham Lincoln Elected President of the United States of America

Abraham Lincoln shows us that failure can overcome us only if we let it. Those who are truly successful take life's hardships and setbacks and use them as preparation for the next challenge. The lesson in all this: Use life's challenges to build character and strength to move forward with your life.

Erik Elsea

www.erikelsea.com

Quote of the Day! - "Strength is built by one's failures, not by one's successes."- Coco Channel

 
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5 Comments on What Is Wrong with Failure?

AUG
04
2009

Erik

My mom used to read me that story when I was a kid and feeling sorry for myself because I didn't win a swimming race.

Failure, like Edison would say, is getting me closer to my goal

He failed 1,000 times in inventing the light bulb but with each failure he was closer to his objective

The Greatest Baseball players ever fail 7 out of 10 times they are up to the plate and they put them in the Hall of fame
9:23am • #1
210,138 Points 1 Featured Post

Excellent post. The only time it becomes a failure is if you don't learn a lesson from it. Have a great day!
9:41am • #2
717,476 Points 2 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog

Michael Jordan puts it best -"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career, I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over in my life. And that's why I succeed!"

1:50pm • #3
AUG
06
2009

Thank you for the great comments! I am sure that the agents on here have learned from their mistakes and have move forward. The agents on Activerain are exceptional!
9:06am • #4
JUN
02
2010
879,247 Points 10 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Erik - if we were to measure ourselves by our failures/ our success we would all be failures ..... it is our sucesses that matter in life ..... if you have had no failures you are not trying to reach out beyond your limited comfort zone.
4:38pm • #5


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Erik Elsea

Fort Myers, FL

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