You Must Fail

Why successful people fail more often

Dune, a bestseller with over 20 million copies sold, got rejected 23 times before it was ever published.

Steven King, one of the best writers in the horror genre, received 30 rejections for Carrie before it was published. Carrie sold over 4 million copies.

Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, the record holder for the most rejections, received a Guinness World Record for being rejected 121 times before it was published in 1974. It sold over 5 million copies worldwide.

“We are all a part of a miraculous circle of commerce... You don’t hide. You stand, and you present. And you know what happens? They’ll say no 8 times, and then on the 9th time they’ll listen to you, because you didn’t give up.” ~ Joy (2015)

Failure is not a bad thing at all; it’s necessary to reach success, mandatory even.

There is such a thing as failing well. You refuse to be discouraged and instead analyze what went wrong and find ways to make the situation better.

For my business statistics course, I failed with a 46% on my first exam. After I got that mark, I honestly thought my diploma was over, but it wasn’t. I went for a walk, journaled, and came back with a solution. I found a tutor, and I booked multiple 2-hour sessions that ended up costing me over $300, but it was worth it. On the next exam, I got a 72%.

When I took the introduction to accounting course, I failed the first exam, receiving another 46%! Instead of getting discouraged and quitting, I reached out to my network and contacted a friend who’s a professional accountant. Throughout multiple sessions, we probably spent over 15 hours working through accounting questions, and that effort paid off when I earned a 73% on the next exam.

Failure is not a sign to give up. Giving up is a sign of failure.

Yes, I’ve failed assignments, quizzes, and exams. But at the end of the day, I passed the class and met the requirements to graduate. So, did I really fail? No.

You will fall, and you will stumble, but it all leads to the big success.

But you must fail.