By David K. Williams in Forbes magazine
In the months leading up to the launch of my book, The 7 Non-Negotiables of Winning, I’ve
talked a lot about winning—but I’ve talked a lot about failing, too. Learning
how to fail productively—to “Fail Up”—is one of the greatest secrets to full-on
success.
And in that vein, I was impressed with a recent
article by business author Bernard Marr. He pointed out that there is one
single thing that all “radically successful” people have in common: They have a
ferocious drive and hunger for success that makes them never give up.
There are many varieties of success. Jobs and
careers are one area, but success in family life, personal relationships,
community and church work, philanthropy and sports or treasured hobbies are
important success priorities as well.
One thing is certain: There is no clear and
definitive path to success for anyone. The most successful people in any
endeavor will tell you many stories of failure within their life journeys. Many
(if not all) have experienced major failures, multiple times. But they never
gave up.
As I have said many times, the greatest secret
to success is learning how to “Fail Up.” It would even be fair to say that
failure is the driver that makes truly successful people even more hungry and
determined to achieve their success.
In his article, Marr presented a list of nine
famous successful people whose failures helped to spur their success. I would
like to share them with you, along with some of my own thoughts on each:
1. Henry
Ford stands tall as a pioneer of modern business, yet this founder of the
Ford Motor Company failed many times on his route to success. His first
business attempt at building a motor car was shuttered after just a year and a
half when stockholders lost confidence in his ability to succeed. He gathered
more cash and re-started his effort, but a year later was forced out of his own
company yet again. The entire motor industry had lost faith in Henry Ford, but
he was not deterred. He found another investor to start the Ford Motor Company,
and the rest is history.
