YOU LEARN MORE BY FAILING THAN YOU DO BY WINNING

Image Credit: GS/Getty Images

From childhood, most big figures we look up to teach us that we should never fail in anything we do. Those who make fewer mistakes were seen as the geniuses of our time. Some like me, who always was making mistakes was seen as the dumb kid. What about those who make enormous mistakes? They are the dummers who everyone believe will never amount to anything in life. Today, reverse is the case because most successful people sucked at whatever it is there are great at before the become good at it.

The lesser mistake you make, the smarter the school system sees you. I was a comfortable “C” student no doubt, and was equally too lazy to do something about it. The school didn’t ‘t want me to make a mistake, but the fastest way by which I learn is by making as many mistakes as possible.

In the book, Midas Touch by Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump, Donald said,

“If “A” students are considered the smartest people of all, why don’t they become extremely wealthy entrepreneurs? The answer is because most “A” students are winners in the classroom where they win by making the fewest mistakes and failing the least.”

When I pondered on the above assertion, everything began to make sense. Of course it makes sense. I remember when I was a gamer as a teen, the easiest way by which I can beat an opponent was by preparing before hand, by making all the necessary mistakes and learning from them as fast as I can. Through mistakes, I learn what works and what doesn’t. But it’s disheartening cause we have been programmed to detest mistake, we have been taught to see failure as a weakness and a sin.

I usually tell “wanna be” entrepreneurs this: If you’re considering taking a path in entrepreneurship, failure should be the ladder by which you walk on. The more mistakes you make, the faster you learn. The faster you get a hang of the lesson that failure teaches, the faster you’ll be able to print your own money and be financially free. If there’s only one human on earth who can attestify to the fact that mistakes and failures are the path to success in life, it will be me. Through failures, we attain enlightenment. As you journey into the world of business, forget everything that you were taught in school.

When you start your first business, brace yourself with this ugly truth; you’re going to fail and make numerous mistakes. It’s totally normal and it is nothing to be ashamed of. When you make a mistake, have in mind that you just gained a valuable lesson. Learn from your mistakes and move on.

FAILURE FORGES THE PATH TO SUCCESS

We all know a handful of great entrepreneurs that started with nothing but before they ended, they had the world. They are proof that you can be anything you want to be. These great entrepreneurs knew the mystery of failure and disappointment. They knew that they were in charge of their life. Trust me, they dwelled in a deep rut of depression and failure before they became successful. There was a time in their life when they felt like giving up, but they never did. They kept showing up everyday despite the obstacles and thorns on the path of success.

Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times before he was able to invent the light bulb. I remembered reading somewhere, where he said; “I have learn about 9,000 ways a light bulb won’t work.” Steve Spielberg was rejected from film school 3 times before getting his major breakthrough. There are many people today who would have given up on a second attempt. Henry Ford on the other hand founded two automated companies which was a huge failure. However, he knew deep down that failures weren’t there to stop him but to teach him a valuable lesson. He went ahead to establish Ford Motor Company which became a mega success. Henry Ford’s Net Worth is estimated to be $188 million. That my friend, is the reward of failure.

Image Credit: Getty Images

A NEW WAY TO LOOK AT FAILURE

The business world is like a strategic game ruled by rules and principles. When you understand the rules and play according to its provision, you excel. Like every game, we usually fail during the first, second and third attempt. Some games will require you to fail hundreds of times before you can master the tricks and rules. This analogy perfectly suit the business world.

Irrespective of having a great business plan and a great team, truth is, you still have a lot to learn and it starts the moment operation begins. You’ll lose money in the cause of your mistakes.. You might even lose friends.. Entrepreneurship is not an easy path. But when you fail a lot of times, you’ll not only become an expert in that field, you leverage your wealth of experience and failure into making the business a success. Through failures, you discover what doesn’t work just like Thomas Edison.

The school will tell you; “Avoid mistakes by every means possible” If you dare to make a single mistake, you grades become red and you pay dearly for it. In some cases, the teacher will have to punish the student, to inculcate the spirit of not making mistakes. When such a child delve into the business world, he automatically fail because he was only a winner in the classroom. The real world is directly the opposite of what is taught in school and that’s why these so called “A” students end up working for the C students, working from hand to mouth till grave.

MISTAKES ARE GREAT TEACHERS

My mentor once told me, “Failure doesn’t make you a failure. You only become a failure the moment you stop trying.” Now, Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times before he managed to invent the light bulb. I’m yet to see someone who has failed that much. I for instance will give up on the fifty attempt. However, that didn’t make him a failure cause he kept pushing forward despite the hurdles. Through mistakes, we learn what works and what doesn’t. Mistake is the greatest teacher.

To end with, as you start your journey into the world of entrepreneurship, have it in mind that you are going to suck at the beginning. The rapper Diddy said it one time at a college graduation that ' whenever you want to do something new, you are going to actually suck at that thing at first, you will fail, you will embarrass yourself and people will make fun of you'. And many other successful people when telling their stories tells people that their greatest teacher was failure, because when you fail at something you really, badly want, it will be a humbling experience for you and that will give you room to accept the fact that you are not good at that thing which will allow you to push yourself towards becoming better at that thing you are doing. So the bottom line is don't be afraid to loose or to fail at something or anything you want to do because failure will teach you alot more thing than success will ever teach you.