pass/fail - profit/loss

When a person fails at something they may mistakenly believe they are heading in the opposite direction from the success they desire. Yet when you really think about the positive implications of failure you have to conclude that being a failure at anything is a sure step in the right direction to your success. Both failure and success are steps in the right direction and they are more like twin sisters than distant relatives.


We start with failure because most of us are experts in this field. If you ask a random person if they considered themselves a failure or a success they would most likely tell you they have failed more than a time or two in the past. They may even go on to tell you a juicy story of a recent failing and falling and how they missed reaching a goal or a dream.

After they conclude their litany of disaster ask them about their successes. They would confront you angrily saying, "I just told your how I failed and that should have showed you clearly that I am not a success."

Real self development and self improvement come in
recognizing this larger understanding about failure.

Because we value success so much, we tend to exaggerate the effects of failure. We wrongly conclude that failure means we did not succeed. But failure isn't the end of the world. You won't die from it. With failure -- you fail, you pick yourself up and you go on.

Have at it right now. Go ahead and take the risk. Go ahead and fail. Because that means you are well on your way to your sure success. So you see in order to succeed all you have to do is fail a lot and learn from it.