In 1914, the great inventor Thomas Edison experienced a devastating hardship. His entire laboratory burned to the ground, and several years worth of work was ruined.
Newpapers described the situation as “the worst thing to happen to Edison.”
Edison didn’t see it that way at all. The inventor instead chose to see his circumstances as an invigorating opportunity to rebuild and re-examine much of his current work. In fact, Edison reportedly said shortly after the fire: “Thank goodness all our mistakes were burned up. No we can start again fresh.” And that’s exactly what he and his team did. (from 5 Lies We Learned When We Were Younger [That We Still Live By Today])
How you handle setbacks and failures may be the greatest determining factor in the level of your success. You control your response to the circumstances of your life. Fear of failure will keep you from learning from your mistakes. This is truly a failure.
If you never try, you have already failed.
If you fail to learn, you have failed.
If you quit, you have failed.
Learn from your setbacks and failures. Take time to debrief yourself. Get with a mentor or coach. These times create the best soil for new opportunities.