You have no items in your shopping cart.
SIGN UP AND SAVE
![]() |
Sign Up for email and receive exclusive offers, |
Your information will never be shared or sold to a 3rd party.
- (open) HOME
- (open)Products
- (open)Authors
- All Authors
- Dr. Andrew Newberg
- Dr. Andy Fuehl
- Asara Lovejoy
- Dr. Arnd Stein
- Barbara Mahaffey, M.A.
- Barefoot Doctor
- Barry J. Farber
- Bernie S. Siegel
- Bert Decker
- Bill Staton and Mary Staton
- Bob Proctor
- Brian Tracy
- Bob Scheinfeld
- Byron Katie
- C.W. Metcalf
- Dr. Carl Aylen
- Charles Faulkner
- Colin Rose
- Dale Carnegie Training
- Dan Green
- Dan Miller
- Dan Millman
- Dan Sullivan
- Dave Ramsey
- David Allen
- Dr. David Hawkins
- David Ison
- David Viscott, M.D.
- Dean Sluyter
- Dr. Deepak Chopra
- Debbie Ford
- Denis Waitley
- Dick Sutphen
- Dr. Dolf de Roos
- Dominic O'Brien
- Don Richard Riso
- Donna Faiman Cercone
- Earl Nightingale
- Doug Hall
- Ed Foreman
- Edward (Ned) Hallowell, M.D.
- Elaine St. James
- Fabrice Beillard
- Eric Plasker, D.C.
- The Foundation for Inner Peace
- Esther and Jerry Hicks
- Gabrielle Bosché
- Fredric Lehrman
- Dr. Gary S. Goodman
- Gale Glassner Twersky, A.C.H., Ct. H.A.
- Garrett B. Gunderson
- Gary Null
- Gary Renard
- Gerald Epstein, M.D.
- Dr. Gayle Delaney
- George Silverman
- Gerald Jampolsky
- Greg Karp
- Gregg Braden
- Harry S. Dent, Jr.
- Guy Finley
- Hans Christian King
- Harvey Mackay
- Howard Stephan Berg
- Jack Canfield
- Howard Martin
- Jack Zufelt
- James M. Kouzes
- Jay Abraham
- James Waldroop, Ph.D
- Janice Bryant Howroyd
- Jay Conrad Levinson
- Jeffrey J. Fox
- Dr. Jeffrey Thompson
- Jerrold Mundis
- Jim Camp
- Jim Rohn
- Jim Rohrbach
- Jim Warner
- Joe Nuckols
- Dr. Joan Borysenko
- Joe Caruso
- Joe Vitale
- Joe Montana & Tom Mitchell Ph.D.
- Joe Navarro
- John Abdo
- John Cummuta
- Dr. Joel & Michelle Levey
- Dr. John Eliot
- John Powers
- John Wasik
- Jon Kabat-Zinn
- Jonathan Niednagel
- Kenneth Baum
- Jordan Goodman
- Kevin L. McCrudden
- Josh Kaufman
- Kazuo Murakami
- Kelvin Boston
- Ken Blanchard
- Larry Janesky
- Larry Winget
- Kerry L. Johnson
- Kevin J. Todeschi
- Lee Pulos, Ph.D.
- Dr. Leo Buscaglia
- Les Brown
- Laurence G. Boldt
- Dr. Laurence D. Martel
- Luanne Oakes, Ph.D.
- Mac Anderson
- Loretta Malandro, PH.D.
- Marianne Williamson
- Lou Adler
- Marc David
- Mark Victor Hansen
- Mark Earlix
- Dr. Mark Hyman
- Dr. Mark Stengler
- Matt Furey
- Mark Young
- Dr. Marshall Goldsmith
- Martin Fridson
- MaryEllen Tribby
- Mary Kay Ash
- Mattel
- Michael E. Gerber
- Dr. Maxwell Maltz and Dan Kennedy
- Melonie Dodaro
- Michael A. Boylan
- Michael Bernard Beckwith
- Dr. Michael Broder
- Michael Wickett
- Michael J. Gelb
- Mihály Csíkszentmihályi
- Michael LeBoeuf
- Mike Rodriguez
- Michael Masterson
- Napoleon Hill
- Michael McMillan
- Million Dollar Round Table
- Nightingale Learning Systems
- Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone
- Nathaniel Branden, Ph.D.
- Noah St. John
- Neale Donald Walsch
- Neil Fiore, Ph.D.
- Nick Hall, Ph.D.
- Nido Qubein
- Paula Oleska
- Nightingale-Conant Corporation
- Peter Diamandis
- Pamela Dunn
- Paul and Sarah Edwards
- Paul Hannam
- Paul Pearsall, Ph.D.
- Peter Thomson
- Paul Zane Pilzer
- Peggy Anderson
- Peter McLaughlin
- Ric Edelman
- Peter Montoya
- Peter S. Cohan
- Robert Allen
- Robert B. Stone
- Dr. Richard Banks
- Richard Carlson
- Richard Koch
- Richard Ott
- Robert Stuberg
- Robert Jordan
- Robert Kiyosaki
- Robert Kriegel, Ph.D.
- Roger Dawson
- Dr. Robert Maurer
- Robert P. Miles
- Roger Love
- Robert Pino
- Ron Roth, Ph.D.
- Robert White
- Seth Godin
- Sonia Choquette
- Sri Siva
- Sam Keen
- Sandler Sales Institute
- Stephen Covey
- Shannon Duncan
- Sidney Friedman
- Sir John Templeton
- Steven Hartman
- Steven K. Scott
- Stefan Wissenbach
- Stuart Wilde
- T. Harv Eker
- Stephen Edwards
- Stephen Pierce
- Steven Pressfield
- Thomas Leonard
- Thomas Moore
- Thomas Schweich
- Tony Alessandra, Ph.D.
- Tom Feltenstein
- Tom Morris
- Wally Amos
- Tony Jeary
- Tony Manganiello
- Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
- Vic Conant
- The Vocare Group
- Win Wenger
- Zig Ziglar
- Wolf Moondance
- (open)Downloads
- (open)Categories
- (open)FREE RESOURCES
- (open)ARTICLES
- (open)COACHING
© 2021 NIghtingale-Conant Corporation All Rights Reserved.
- Home /
- Let Failure Spur You On
Let Failure Spur You On Article by: Denis Waitley
It has been said that failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead-end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.
It may motivate you more toward your own goals to know that some of the most famous and well-known people in modern times had to overcome obstacles as difficult as anyone’s before they finally reached the top. It takes persistence and total commitment to your goals, but it’s possible.
Thomas Edison’s father called him a “dunce.” His headmaster in school told Edison he would never make a success of anything.
Henry Ford barely made it through high school.
The machines of the world’s greatest inventor, Leonardo da Vinci, were never built, and many wouldn’t have worked anyway.
Edwin Land, the inventor of the Polaroid Land camera, failed absolutely at developing instant movies. He described his attempts as trying to use an impossible chemistry and a nonexistent technology to make an unmanufacturable product for which there was no discernable demand. These hurdles, in his opinion, created the optimum working conditions for the creative mind.
Joe Paterno, head coach of the Penn State University football team, was asked by the media how he felt when his team lost a game. He rapidly replied that losing was probably good for the team, since that was how the players learned what they were doing wrong.
Setbacks and failures mean little or nothing in themselves. The whole meaning of any setback — or any success, for that matter — is in how we take it and what we make of it.
We often look at high achievers and assume they had a string of lucky breaks or made it without much effort. Usually the opposite is true, and the socalled superstar or “overnight success” had an incredibly rough time before he or she attained any lasting success.
You may not know the background of a certain laundry worker who earned $60 a week at his job but had the burning desire to be a writer. His wife worked nights, and he spent nights and weekends typing manuscripts to send to publishers and agents. Each one was rejected with a form letter that gave him no assurance that his manuscript had even been read. I’ve received a few of those special valentines myself through the years, and I can tell you firsthand that they’re not the greatest self-esteem builders.
But finally, a warm, more personal rejection letter came in the mail to the laundry worker, stating that, although his work was not good enough at this point to warrant publishing, he had promise as a writer and he should keep writing.
He forwarded two more manuscripts to the same friendly-yet-rejecting publisher over the next 18 months, and as before, he struck out with both of them. Finances got so tight for the young couple that they had to disconnect their telephone to pay for medicine for their baby.
Feeling totally discouraged, he threw his latest manuscript into the garbage. His wife, totally committed to his life goals and believing in his talent, took the manuscript out of the trash and sent it to Doubleday, the publisher who had sent the friendly rejections. The book, titled Carrie, sold over 5 million copies and, as a movie, became one of the top-grossing films in 1976. The laundry worker, of course, was Stephen King.
Think back to a time in your life you have found difficult. Try to see what you gained as a result what you learned, what strength you found even in the most trying time — or what strength you find now in your having overcome it. Perhaps you may never have been aware of what you gained until you think about it now. The Chinese have a saying: “Eat bitter to taste sweet.” It means that by living through painful times, we can become stronger people. I certainly agree with this, and the transformation depends on our ability to discover something beyond the pain.
Source: Psychology of Motivation by Dr. Denis Waitley. Learn more at www.AdvantEdgeMag.com/Waitley today.