I think most people see success as one direction and failure in the exact opposite direction but I don’t think that is true.
My experience has taught me that you have to pass through failure to find success. In other words, they are the same path.
The problem is that failure stops us and so we don’t get far enough down the path.
Successful people learn to embrace failure, learn from it, and use it as fuel.
Sarah Blakely, the founder of Spanx, is someone who understands this mindset. When Sarah was growing up, her family would have family dinner every night. But unlike most families, their discussions weren’t just about the events of the day or how school went. Sarah’s father every night at dinner would ask the family, “How did you fail today?”
That question spurred their conversation and they would share their failures. They would discuss what they learned. How it felt. I’m sure they would laugh with each other and sometimes cry together.
I find it fascinating though, that the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world learned at a young age to embrace failure.
I don’t think it is a coincidence.
I think that a mindset that embraces failure and uses it as a stepping stone allows us to move further down the path to reach the success we are seeking.