May 4, 2018
“You will sometimes fail. There will never be a point in your life when you are too successful, too old or too wise to fail. Accept failure and let it put steel into your soul. Be made strong by your failures and be made grateful by your success. Like night and day, both will surely come to every life.“
– Tony Parsons
Failure is a part of everyday life for both athletes and entrepreneurs. Because of this, our career success depends largely on our ability to get past these hurdles.
In fact, I strongly encourage the people around me to ban the word “failure” from their vocabulary.
Having faced difficult situations many times in my life, I’ve come to think that maybe they should be seen as excellent opportunities to refocus… and fight back even harder than ever!
I’m convinced that we need to see obstacles in our way as new challenges to meet, like a test to see how willing we are to succeed. And, believe it or not, we always come out stronger in the end. If we look at it this way, we do not have to let defeat overshadow us.
The only mistake we can make is to give up before we’ve reached our goals.
There are numerous examples of this in sports: in 1999, I finished dead last in my category during the World Indoor Championships.
Five months later, I became the second-fastest sprinter of all time.
During his first year on the national team, speed skater Charles Hamelin had to be cut. Five Olympic medals and a world championship title later, I think it’s safe to say that Charles really knew how to pick himself up and turn this into a learning experience.
In business, I’m sure you’ve heard many stories of entrepreneurs who managed to grow their company even while it was teetering on the brink. The example of Howard Schultz is particularly remarkable: banks refused to finance his project 242 times. Today, Starbucks is one of the most profitable multinationals on the planet and has completely revolutionized the coffee industry.
So, I’m curious: how do you get past roadblocks in your life?
Feel free to share inspiring examples and effective strategies on how to overcome setbacks with me.
Go get it!
Bruny.
