Failure

Always think in positive terms, not negative.  Use positive thinking to focus on what you want to become, not on the negative things you want to remove.  This is a major plank of Law of Attraction philosophy and is something to which I subscribe wholeheartedly.

So why have I named this blog article "Failure"?  Isn't that a very negative way to start?

Actually, failure isn't negative at all.  I hope by the time you have read this article you will agree.

Listen to the words of Charles Kettering, who was head of research at General Motors, inventor of the electric starting motor, and a holder of 186 patents.  Kettering said "Failing is one of the greatest arts in the world. One fails toward success."

Or how about this comment from Thomas J Watson, the man who turned IBM into an international business to be reckoned with, and who was hailed as the world's greatest salesman.  Watson said "The fastest way to succeed is to double your failure rate."  He was certainly speaking from experience.  Watson failed in his first job as a teacher - he gave up after only one day!  If you read his biography you will realize he failed many times, at many things, but that didn't stop him from becoming the richest man in the world.  In fact, he believed that was why he became the richest man in the world!

How successful was Abraham Lincoln?  He went to war as a captain and returned a private!  He failed as a businessman.  He failed as a lawyer.  He failed when he tried to become a congressman.  He failed when he tried to become a senator.  He failed when he tried to become vice-president.  But all those failures were steps in his progress to becoming one of the greatest presidents of the United States.

Perhaps the most famous example of failure leading to success is Thomas Edison.  Edison designed the first commercially practical light bulb.  But only after failing to create one 1,000 times.  When he was asked how he felt about failing 1,000 times, Edison said that each of those 1,000 failures was a step towards his success.

And that is the key.  Failure is not something negative at all.  It is a step towards success.  Often, a necessary step.

Learn from your failures.  Edison found 1,000 ways a light bulb would not work, which is the reason he was eventually able to find one way it would work.

Don't try to avoid failure.  Embrace it.  See it the way Edison saw it.  Each failure is one step you have made closer to your ultimate success.

I will never make it because …

Did you know at least three presidents of the United States lost everything and went bankrupt before making their fortune again?  There may be more, as I am not an expert on American history, but I do know of Abraham Lincoln (bankrupt in 1883, eventually worth $18,400,000), Ulysses S Grant (bankrupt in 1881, eventually worth $95,100,000) and William McKinley (bankrupt in 1893, eventually worth $7,500,000).

There are plenty of other names you will probably recognize who have been through this experience of bankruptcy followed by financial success.  How about Walt Disney, for example?  Walt Disney had a dream, but in his early years not much else!  He was also considered rather a failure at school, had to repeat his second grade, and often dozed off in his lessons.  In 1921 Walt Disney went bankrupt.  By the time he died in 1966 he was worth $1,100,000,000, and he had also realized his dream of establishing a clean, wholesome entertainment park for children young and old – Disneyland.

Or how about Henry Heinz – the founder of the Heinz food company?  Like Disney, Heinz also had a dream.  He dreamed of creating safe and sanitary food, and of a nurturing and safe environment for his employees, and he achieved those dreams.  But not without going bust when he was 31!  When he died at age 74 Henry Heinz was worth $400,000,000.

Francis Ford Coppola, the director famous for both “Apocalypse Now” and the Godfather series of films, filed for bankruptcy three times in nine years – in 1983, 1990 and 1992.  Each time he arose from the flames of bankruptcy like a phoenix.  I have seen estimates of his net worth now varying between $25 million and $250 million.

Another “Ford” who went bankrupt and recovered is Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford car empire.  Ford was fired from his first job.  He filed for bankruptcy twice, but died with a net worth of $188,000,000,000.

If you do a little research you will find dozens of similar examples.  George Foreman, the rapper M C Hammer, Larry King, Bob Guccione (of Penthouse fame), the chocolate king Milton Hershey, the property magnate Donald Trump, Kim Bassinger, Burt Reynolds, the showman P T Barnum, even Buffalo Bill!  All went broke but recovered big time!

Usually the biggest obstacle that seems to prevent us achieving our dreams is the lack of money.  “I will never make it because I don’t have enough money!”  All of the above went bankrupt at least once but bounced back and made it – and so can you!

Or maybe you see a different obstacle.  “I will never make it because I am not clever enough!”  Albert Einstein was considered a very slow learner in his early childhood – so much so that his parents had to consult a doctor to check his mental abilities.  Richard Branson is dyslexic, but that didn’t stop him founding the Virgin empire.  Helen Keller contracted an illness that left her permanently blind and deaf from 19 months old, yet achieved her dreams of becoming a university graduate, a published author, a political activist and a lecturer.  Can you really say that whatever you think is holding you back is a more insurmountable obstacle than faced by Helen Keller?

No matter what obstacles you see, there is only one thing that can stop you reaching your goal – and that one thing is YOU!  Keep saying “I will never make it because …” and you WILL never make it.  Determine today to strike that phrase from your memory.  Replace it with “I WILL make it because …” and you, like all the above, will achieve your dream.