I will be the first to admit that I have failed on many occassions. Projects that havn’t worked the way I planned. Ideas that turned out to look so much better in my mind than in real life. But it’s not just failure that gets us down, but rejection.
Sometimes well meaning people try to project their personal opinions about us, and while they don’t mean to hurt us - sometimes it does. Rejection from strangers is easy to handle for most people, but when someone we know and respect tells us that we are a failure, that what we are working on isn’t working, it can really get to us.
So I just wanted to look at 3 really simple things that we can do to turn failure and reject into success. But before I do, check out this video to see a few of the people that failure puts you in the same league as.
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Change Our Mindset
If we want to turn our failures into success the first thing we need to do is decide to believe in ourselves. We need to put aside what other people are saying and not let their perceptions change the way we see ourselves.
You will notice that every single person that was mentioned in the video suffered a setback - and pretty huge ones at that. I am sure that they all faced the point of decision and felt like giving up, but think if they had.
Imagine if Thomas Edison had listened to his teacher? History would have missed out on one of it’s greatest inventors. Or what if Michael Jordan had given up basketball after being cut from his high school basketball team? America would have been been denied one of their national sporting icons.
Who are you letting down by not stepping into your destiny? If you don’t step up. It you don’t look above what other people think, even your own personal doubts, you may not only be robbing yourself of what could have been but you are also robbing those who you could have affected if you believed in yourself enough to continue.
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Change Our Actions
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. (Albert Einstein)
The funny thing is that a lot of people actually think that things will change even though we are still doing the same thing. It’s almost like they are expecting some kind of external help that will somehow miraculously change their circumstances for the best.
Sometimes I think this is because people are lazy and think it is easier to do the same thing, even though they are not going anywhere, then to step out and change things up to see if they can find what really works. But other times it is due to the fact that people don’t know how to get out of the rut that they are in.
Whatever it is, we need to change what we are doing. What is the point of wasting time and effort on something that isn’t working. So if you don’t know what changes you need to make, then find people who have your best interests in heart AND know what you are capable of, and see if they can give you an outside perspective!
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Persevere
- If you are convinced that you have what it takes and are willing to make the necessary changes then the only thing left is to never give up! Check out this video for a bit of inspiration:
One of the quotes that I love from this video is:
And many a failure turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out
I have seen this all to often, especially on blogging, where a hotshot new blogger hits the scene with a massive load of potential only to see them give up. They give up because they do not see the growth they were expecting or making the money that they wanted. However it all comes down to perseverance and the time you put into it.
Dean Hunt puts it nicely on in a video over at RetireAt21.com.
In the video he mentions that if you have 1cent and double it every day for a whole month, that 1cent turns into about $5million dollars. This is what everyone is expecting when they start their ventures – the promise of big profits. But the thing is, that it is just like compounding interest. It will start slow but then it will just hit a level where things seem to just take off.
If you had stopped doubling after the first 10 days of the month, you would only walk away with about $5, not knowing you were only 20 days away from $5million.
So if you are struggling with failure or rejection in your projects, you just need to change your mindset to a positive one, looking above what others may say – or even the circumstances. Then make the necessary changes to stear the project in the right direction and then sitck it out! Keep working though the hard times, persevere when things get slow and give success every chance to knock on your door!




Very nice post!
I specially like videos included in this article! Very good ways to turn “failure into success”!
Very motivational and aptly filed under the inspiration section!! Good post Tom! :)
Those three steps will do a LOT. It’s all in the mind.
Thank you for this post and the videos.
This is essential the simple 3 step process towards success. But I think most of us can’t get past step 1.
They need to fill their life with positive and supporting ideas, people, networks, organizations, etc.
I heard Farrah Gray, the 14 year old turned millionaire that said that the graveyard is the place that is the most richest because that is where people lie dead with their passions untapped.
excellent post.Reflects your research.ever since i met failures i keep trying again and coping up with it.
I think those that are most successful in life have had a tremendous amount of failure before success. I take failure as a good thing because I now know what will work and what doesn’t
Thanks for the inspiration! I’ve seen the failure video before, and do like it, but I’d never seen the other one.
Those three steps are very important for everyone to remember!
Good tips because failure happens more often then success.
Someone rightly said ….Change your thinking , Change your bank balance…
zk – Wow..that’s great!
Really A informative Post,
Just Love The Videos,
I normally Dont Go through The videos But That Quote “And many a failure turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out” Made Me Watch all of those,
Failure teachs More Then Successs Does
Things don´t go always as intended, but when this happens in blogging/marketing I set it aside for a week and during that time usually the solution arrives.Perhaps we need to change the way we think sometimes.
I know by my own experince that success comes after failure as a day follows a night,success and falure are parts of the whole.We must be wise to take everything what comes to our homes.
Lol your comment about MJ and TE is interesting! Its really true huh.. Its people like this who really succeed when they strive on..
Thanks for this wonderful info…i my self sometimes get discourage if i get failed. Now you gave me some ideas how can i manage my self and get motivated by failures.
Thnx 4 sharing :D
This are some great steps, Its very true, that its all in the mindset. You should always expect to fail but if you do you should always try something different and never give up
Failure is just a stepping stone to success. Without failure you’d never learn what does and what doesn’t work. Failure is never and ending, just a pause.
Here is a great quote by Thomas Edison:
“I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
This is a solid post and I’ve bookmarked it! It’s important to see the good in your failures and to learn from your mistakes. It’s only from riding the waves and learning from the bad times and capitalizing on the good times that we’re ever truly able to succeed. A great post which I’ll be referring my friends to.