What if the prize goes to the participant who fails the
most? What would that look like? It might look a lot like the stories of
success around us because many times, that’s exactly how it works.
Fear of failure is often what keeps us from chasing a goal
or a dream. The embarrassment of a bad idea is often what scares us away from
trying to come up with good ones. Unfortunately, these outcomes are knit together
intimately. The only way to create any significant achievement is to build it
upon a mound of failures. Good ideas only present themselves after sifting
through many bad ones.
Out of the five players responsible for missing the most shots
in NBA history, four of them are currently in the Hall of Fame. And the only
one of the five who isn’t in the Hall of Fame holds the top spot with nearly
fifteen thousand failed attempts. His name is Kobe Bryant.
Reggie Jackson owns the MLB record for most career strikeouts
by a batter. He is also in the Hall of Fame and nicknamed “Mr. October” due to
his penchant for outstanding play when it mattered the most: during multiple World
Series Championships.
Brett Favre has thrown more interceptions than any other
quarterback in NFL history, but until a few years ago, he also owned the
records for most completions, passing yards and touchdowns.
Thomas Edison had over ten thousand “failed” attempts before
the light bulb finally came on (see what I did there). Elvis Presley was
originally cut from back-yard quartets and told he should stick to driving trucks.
JK Rowling was a single mother on welfare when she began the Harry Potter
series because no one would publish her writing.
I could go on, but I think you are can see the point. It’s a
strange dichotomy, but you can only succeed if you are willing to fail. If you
react to it properly, failure is how you hone, shape and fine-tune your
progress. Failure and success are not opposites, they are a package deal.
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