People often consider failure a stigma.  Society often doesn’t respect the people who failed and avoids and criticizes their actions. Failure is an integral part of life as life is incomplete without failures. Not to have endeavored is worse than failing in life as at some stage of your life you regret not having tried in your life. 

Therefore, you need to try, test, fail and bounce back to succeed finally. This article is dedicated to the people who failed in their initial attempts and ultimately achieved big in their lives. 

Their failures inspire you to unlock your hidden potential and test your abilities thus making you great in society.  We will first discuss the reasons for failures and then move on to the leaders who bounced back like Phoenix.

Why Do People Fail?

It is rightly said that success has many fathers while failure has none. There are many reasons for success.  Similarly, there are many reasons for failures and it is difficult to pinpoint them as the list is very lengthy.  However, Siimon Reynolds the author of the book, Why People Fail identifies 16 reasons for failure.  

They are unclear purpose, destructive thinking, low productivity, fixed mindset, weak energy, not asking the right questions, poor presentation skills, mistaking IQ (Intelligence Quotient) for EQ (Emotional Quotient), poor self-image, not enough thinking, no daily rituals, stress, few relationships, lack of persistence, money obsession, and finally, not focusing on strengths.  

Hence, ensure that you don’t make such mistakes to achieve success.  Knowing the reasons for failure helps people ensure their success.  

Og Mandino noted, “Whenever you make a mistake or get knocked down by life, don’t look back at it too long. Mistakes are life’s way of teaching you. Your capacity for occasional blunders is inseparable from your capacity to reach your goals. 

No one wins them all, and your failures, when they happen, are just part of your growth. Shake off your blunders. How will you know your limits without occasional failure? Never quit. Your turn will come.”  

People should learn lessons from the failures of others to avoid repeating such mistakes as it is rightly said that the foolish person learns from his/her own experiences while the intelligent person learns from the experiences of others.  

To go further, Roy H. Williams remarked, “A smart man makes a mistake, learns from it, and never makes that mistake again. But a wise man finds a smart man and learns from him how to avoid the mistake altogether.”  In this context, it is vital to know that several leaders failed initially and bounced back from failures finally.  We will discuss the same.

“When I was young, I observed that nine out of 10 things I did were failures, so I did 10 times more work.” ―George Bernard Shaw

Leaders with Initial Failures 

There are entrepreneurs, athletes, actors, scientists, and leaders who are well-known globally in their spheres and who had their share of failures initially. Their rise to the top was not easy and it was beset with initial burns, failures, and struggles.  

For instance, Henry Ford had tough beginnings and failed miserably in his life subsequently rose to greater heights and founded the Ford Motor Company. Akio Morita of Sony Company’s first product, the rice cooker did not work well.  He built a great company subsequently. 

Soichiro Honda had several challenges initially and subsequently built a global company.  Harland David Sanders who is popularly known as Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame had several failures initially. 

His famous secret chicken recipe was rejected 1,009 times before a restaurant accepted it. He excelled as an entrepreneur in his old age.  Charles Darwin was dubbed by his father as lazy and too dreamy initially. Later he proved to be great in his scientific studies. 

He said, “I was considered by all my masters and my father, a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard of intellect.”  Similarly, Einstein was sent out of school by dubbing him as mentally retarded and, finally, won Nobel Prize. 

Isaac Newton had his initial failures and was rejected by many including his uncle. He blossomed into a scholar subsequently.  Edison is an amazing example with a ‘never say die’ attitude who made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts while inventing the light bulb.  

When asked about his failures, he said that he did not fail but had learned various methods that did not work well to invent the light bulb.  Orville and Wilbur Wright, popularly known as the Wright brothers had several failures and, finally, created a plane that could get airborne and stay there. 

The wartime hero, Winston Churchill was the greatest leader of the UK in the twentieth century.  He was twice elected as Prime Minister.  To your surprise, he failed the sixth grade.  Former President of America, Harry S. Truman was bankrupt in business. He didn’t take failure personally and, finally, became the president of America. 

Noted athlete Michael Jordan bounced back from several failures and, finally, became the best basketball player of all time. He said, “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game-winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” 

Everything is Possible

Everything is possible in this world. It depends on how you perceive the things around you. People with several limitations made it big. Barack Obama had a troubled childhood but finally made it to the President of America. 

Alexander was below average in height with a twisted head but became the Great with his conquests. Julius Caesar had epilepsy but became a great warrior. The founder of Honda was often sick but founded a great company in the world. 

Helen Keller was blind and deaf but became a great inspiration to humankind. Therefore, take these leaders as inspiration, break your mental limitations, dream big and reach your tipping point.

Create your vision. Break your mental limitations. Awaken the leader in you. Acquire great habits for success. Learn the success tools and techniques. Execute SWOT analysis. Think positive. Overcome your identity crisis. Build a positive attitude. Motivate yourself. Integrate curricular and extracurricular activities. 

Manage your time effectively. Avoid information overload. Blend soft and hard skills. Make friends. Network with others. Collaborate with others. Develop problem-solving skills. Make wise decisions. Respect parents, teachers, and elders. Inculcate ethical values. Ensure career compatibility. Acquire employability skills. Grab your dream job.  Build your online image.  Achieve your professional success. Reinvent yourself. Equip with education and character as they are two sides of the same coin to ensure all-around success.   

Above all, learn and grow continuously with the changing times and technologies. Remember as long as you love and learn you are young. Therefore, stay young forever! The sky’s the limit for you!