little Happy Meeting - v. 4

Hey, Loser (just kidding).

Research shows that every winner starts as a loser; that failure is a necessary prerequisite for success. Success, however, can only be achieved if we learn from the failed attempts. Babies are wise to this — they keep getting back up again and again until they get in the walking game. Universities, like Johns Hopkins and the University of Central Arkansas, have full days devoted to the celebration of failure.

^{Cozy up with Failure. Fail often and fail spectacularly.}

There is no hiding from it — not if you ultimately want to succeed. Since we can’t beat it, we may as well embrace it. Failure makes us stronger and more fortified - most of us double our efforts if we don’t achieve what we set out to achieve. Failure reveals our resilience and grit, and failure breeds creativity. People who embrace failure are happier, too! Personally, I like the math. Failure=success. Kinda makes me rethink that D- in math or my weakness for any and everything chocolate.

Famous Failures - If this doesn’t bring the point home, I don’t know what will. These famous people have failure and the tenacity to get back up in common. If they can do it, surely we can.

• Steven Spielberg was rejected from the University of Southern California three times because of mediocre grades.

• Martin Luther King, Jr. got a C in Public Speaking.

• Colonel Sanders couldn’t find a franchise partner and was rejected over 1000 times.

• Seinfeld froze and was booed off stage during his first comedy appearance.

• “Harry Potter” was rejected by a dozen publishers.

• Vera Wang didn’t make the US Olympic team in competitive figure skating before achieving incredible success as a designer.

• Mark Cuban had quite a few business failures before becoming a billionaire.

• and, of course, I think we all know that Michael Jordan was cut from his high school varsity basketball team.

Ways to Celebrate Failure

• Write about your colossal failure on a napkin and toss it in the fire.

• Bake a symbol of your defeat on a cake.

• Make a toast to yourself for overcoming that loss.

• Celebrate with wine and cheese (or a nice strudel) for trying something new, even if your plan failed.

• Create a hall of fame for failed ideas.