“Unstoppable People Don’t Believe In Failure!”
October 12, 2007 by Darlene McDaniel
Filed under Jobs
Are you Unstoppable? I believe when you read this, you will want to read it again and again. As a reminder to never quit. This excerpt was in my email this morning and I thought of my readers. Read it and leave a compelling comment and I will send the book, UNSTOPPABLE: 45 Powerful Stories of Perseverance and Triumph from People Just Like You, to the best comment!! You have until Sunday, October 14th midnight EST to participate in my give-a-way!
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Unstoppable people don’t believe in failure. They see mistakes as opportunities to learn and develop new skills and strategies, not as failure. Failure implies waste, that nothing has been gained. On the contrary, people can gain much from every mistake and setback along the road to success. Mistakes and failures are inevitable and even essential; they are evidence of action –that you are doing something. The more mistakes you make, the greater your chance of succeeding. Failures indicate a willingness to experiment and take risks. Unstoppable people know that each failure brings them a step closer to achieving their dreams.
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“Many people dream of success. To me, success can be achieved only through repeated failure and introspection. In fact, success represents the 1 percent of your work that results from 99 percent that is called failure.”
- Soichiro Honda
Honda has said what hundreds of other achievers have said before him. You may remember that Edison said he would never have invented the light bulb without first failing at 4,000 experiments. Biologist Thomas Huxley said failure was of the “greatest practical benefit” to him. Susan B. Anthony said simply that failure is “impossible.” Chekhov said one would have to be a god to tell the difference between failure and success.
History is full of stories that support Chekhov’s view. When Christopher Columbus made a mistake in his calculations and stumbled across the New World when he hoped to find Asia, was he a failure or a success?
An old adage says “The arrow that hits the bull’s eye is the result of a hundred misses.”
It’s through adversity and failure that we ultimately win. Being able to see failure as an opportunity for learning and improvement is critical to becoming unstoppable. People who can’t bear a moment of failure have doomed themselves to mediocrity for they’ll never be able to push themselves past a point that is uncomfortable or unfamiliar. Yet it is beyond that point where success dwells.
Jim Rohn, author and professional speaker, said “If you’re not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”
Don’t settle.
Excerpt from UNSTOPPABLE: 45 Powerful Stories of Perseverance and Triumph from People Just Like You by Cynthia Kersey
I heard another quote from Edison, something along the lines of “I haven’t failed, I’ve found 4,000 things that didn’t work.” From this I’ve taken that everything should be a learning experience, failure or not.
If something is hard enough that it invites failure, then it’s probably something worth having, or doing. There will be fewer people on the other side, too. But you don’t get to find out if you quit.
Sean
My, my, my I am one of those unstoppable people but I am tired now…May I quit?
The successes that one makes are often taken for grant. Often success makes one believe that one cannot fail. Failure is remembered long after the incident,situation or event has occurred. My experience has taught me to build on my failure. Learn from the failure and continue to grow.
Great post, Darlene. What an inspiring message. I must remember it whenever I’m on the verge of discouragement. Too many people quit after the first mistake or failure instead of persevering.
My philosophy is you can’t be unstoppable if you never get started…even if that means tripping over a few times along the way (which I have done plenty of times).
My husband and I also share another philosophy “Never regret the things you’ve tried. Only those you haven’t tried yet.”
Sounds like a great book.
Hey Sean – Thanks for your comment!! I have read it a couple of times. I like stuff that makes me think!! Stay tuned!
Adonna – No ma’am you can not quit!! If I have to carry you to the finish line I will do it! Better yet, I know someone bigger than you and me and if my memory serves me, he said he would carry us when we need it, so hang in there, get some rest and keep pushing to the finish line.
Hey Pearl, welcome to Interview Chatter. Thank you for your thought provoking comment!! It is unfortunate that we dwell on our failures rather allowing them to be the platform that propels us into success. Building on failures is an interesting way to put it. I would love an example of how you have done that. Feel free to leave another comment. Only entry for the contest, but feel free to elaborate.
Hey Mary Emma! Thanks for stopping by!! I agree with you completely. One of my favorite quotes is, “nothing beats a win, but a try.” I don’t necessarily like the word try, but trying beats quitting any day of the week. Trying at least implies action. Perserverance is consistent action, and is one of the components of being an unstoppable person!!
Hi Yvonne, thanks for your comment. I like the no regrets philosophy! That one would do us all good. Let me know when you write that book!!!
Darlene,
You are unstoppable. I pray for your energy and go getter spirit quite often. Your the person in traffic who keeps moving when everyone else is wondering what to do. Keep going girl!
Hey Ureka! Thanks for stopping by for a visit! I appreciate your compliment!! Have a great day today!!