Yes…Failure is the pathway to success. This statement might seem controversial. After all, isn’t failure the opposite of success? In today’s post, I hope to convince you otherwise. I have used examples of 14 women to show you how they embraced failure and why failure is the key to their success today!
But first, have a think about what is it that scares you the most about failure?
I hope the following wisdom from these women will help you challenge this fear and feel empowered to put on a brave face and keep going when faced with setbacks.
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Women Who Proved Failure is the Pathway to Success.
1. J.K ROWLING
Failure means you are living your life to the fullest.
“ It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default. – J.K. Rowling
This quote is so powerful. As you might well know J.K. Rowling is no stranger to failure. She took Happy Potter to 9 different publishers before it was accepted. She could have given up at that moment and she didn’t. Now she is one of the most successful authors in the world and the story of Harry Potter continues to touch the hearts of many.
Remember that failure is a part of life. It simply means you are taking on every opportunity that you can and you are living your life to the fullest. If you do not try, if you stay in your comfort zone, if you never push your boundaries, that is when you fail. So make the most of every opportunity there is and if it does not work out but it means a lot to you, get up and try again until it works.
2. ANNA WINTOUR.
Failure is good, it forces you to look at yourself.
“Everyone should get sacked at least once. It forces you to look at yourself. It is important to have setbacks because that is the reality of life.” – Anna Wintour
Anna Wintour the Editor in Chief of Vogue. However, before her breakthrough, she was fired from her position in the fashion department at Harper’s Bazaar because her work was “too edgy”.
We fear failure so much yet at those moments of crisis is when the biggest changes tend to happen. When we fail that is when we truly face ourselves and it is only when we face this reality that we can begin to take steps to change ourselves and our circumstances. If you allow it into your life, failure can set you on a much better pathway than the one you were initially on.
Most growth, most success comes from these tough moments. It is not easy. The disappointment, the self-doubt, and negative self-talk that sets in can be painful. But you have just got to get back up, stronger, more experienced, and ready to embrace the new unknown. It could take you magical places you never imagined.
“The best way to make a dream come true is to wake up.” – Anna Wintour.
3. NATALIE ELLIS
Success is not about never failing, it’s about working your ass off.
This is one of the famous Boss Babe Quotes by Natalie Ellis co-founder of Boss Babe Inc.
I think it is such an important lesson too. Success is not the same as not failing. I think many of us do tend to see them as two extremes, but this is not the case. Success is simply working your ass off to achieve what you want. It does not mean that there are no downfalls and doubts along the way. It does not mean your journey to success will be smooth. All it means is that you are willing to put in the work, time and time again until you get there. No one is born successful – it’s all in the work you put in.
Work on improving yourself here and now.
Natalie often talks about the importance of self-development in the journey to success and she has a point. If you are lacking in confidence and self-belief you need to work on it here and now. Whatever it is that you set out to do, there will be people who do not support you and not everyone is going to believe in you. You need to have enough self-confidence to be your own cheerleader. If you do not have self-confidence and self-belief, self-doubt will start to creep in when the negative voices of toxic people begin.
4. CARRIE GREEN
Just because you struggle does not mean you are not successful.
Carrie Green I such an inspiring person. She built her company The Female Entrepreneur Association and started a membership to bring together and help female entrepreneurs. Plus she has her own podcast She Means Business. She is a powerhouse but her journey to get to where she is was not smooth sailing. I love her philosophy that just because something is challenging or does not go as planned it does not mean you have failed. That’s an amazing Mindshift tactic. Instead, failure is a way for you to improve and to learn. Those lessons can pay off in the future because you’re not likely to make the same mistake twice. And who knows, next time, the stakes could be even higher. You’ll be prepared for it!
Another important lesson from Carrie:
“If they say it is impossible, it is impossible for them not for you” – Carrie Green
Basically don’t let others kill your mojo! Keep doing your thing and filter out any negativity.
5. MEL ROBBINS
Have courage in the face of failure.
Mel Robbins has had a lot of experience of failure. She and her husband’s business failed, they lost all their money, she lost her well-paid job, she developed a drinking problem…Yet she picked herself up from the very bottom and became one of the most influential motivational speakers out there. Pure inspiration. With every decision, she made, at every step of the way she had no certainty that she will succeed. She had to have a leap of faith and more importantly courage to move forward and hope it all works out. That is how she developed her 5-second rule. The 5-second rule simply means that when faced with a choice count backward 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and do the thing you want to do. This stops your mind from starting to overthink. It tricks your mind into having courage.
Mel Robbins wrote…
“We are all so afraid of the uncertainty that we want a guarantee before we even try. We want evidence that if we take a risk we will “get the girl” It’s a numbers game. To play any game, you have to start. To win, you need to keep going. If you want to make your dreams, come true, get ready for the long game.
Life is not a one-and-done sort of deal. You’ve got to work for what you want.
Picasso created nearly 100 masterpieces in his lifetime. But what most people don’t know is that he created a total of more than 50,000 works of art. That’s two pieces of art a day. Success is a numbers game. You are not going to win if you keep telling yourself to wait. The more often that you choose courage, the more likely you’ll succeed.”
6. SERENA WILLIAMS
Your success is not defined by the wins but by how you pick yourself up from failures.
“I really think a champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall. I don’t like to lose – at anything… yet I’ve grown most not from victories, but setbacks. If winning is God’s reward, then losing is how he teaches us.” – Serena Williams
Serena Williams is an absolute Queen, yet she has had a fair share of disappointments in her career. But it is true that the ability to pick yourself up from setbacks and failures is what truly defines the person you are. Taking credit for success is easy! Facing your failures is hard. Admitting these failures to the world or even worse having the world witness them is heart-breaking. But when you fail you have a choice. You can either crumble, go into hiding and live safe. Or you can fight through the uncomfortable feeling, learn from the experience and come back stronger. If you continue to push yourself forward, you will have more opportunities to succeed. If you hide away after one disappointment, you’ll never have the opportunity to shine again!
7. VERA WANG
Enjoy the process rather than focusing on the end result.
“Your life isn’t always measured by tangible results. What it really is, in the end, is the process, and what you learn about yourself and about life.” – Vera Wang
Too often when we are on a journey, we focus on succeeding or at least not failing. We make this our ultimate aim. Success is wonderful but if you spend all your time and energy and focus on getting results, your life will pass you by. Stay present. Your life does not begin when you reach your full potential. The time that has passed, you’ll never get back. If you wait to start living only once you have achieved everything you ever wanted, you won’t be left with enough time to live. Enjoy the process of everything you do. Appreciate each day and focus on the small daily wins. If something does not work out exactly as you wanted, you won’t feel like you wasted your time.
8. BEYONCÉ
Never let failure get to your heart.
“Never let success go to your head, never let failure get to your heart. I embrace mistakes. They make you who you are.” – Beyoncé
These are some wise words from Beyonce.
Do not take failure personally. It does not define you and it definitely does not define the trajectory of the rest of your life. You will still have plenty of opportunities for success along the way. Learning to be ok with failure can be extremely powerful and very liberating. You will be able to approach life and various opportunities with a certain lightness. The failures you have experienced and what you gained from these moments in your life will make you who you are. It will make you stronger. One day you may well be the person whose failure story inspired someone else to keep going.
9. ARIANNA HUFFINGTON
Failure is not the opposite of success; it is part of success.
“We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes – understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.” – Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington is the founder of Huff Post. She has always been extremely open about her failures and even goes as far as to say she cherished them because each one was a valuable lesson. Failure is simply the bridge that takes you to the other side where success lies, you just have to be willing to walk across it. It can take a long time, and it can be scary, but you’ve got to keep your head up and not give up. It is all about perseverance.
10. MARIA HATZISTEFANIS
There is no such thing as an overnight success – it’s all about learning and progressing.
“You will find that the most successful people in the world never say, ‘Oh I am so successful, this is it.’ They reinvent themselves. It’s all about learning and progressing. Success is about the relentless pursuit of what you want, and hard work is an essential ingredient.” – Maria Hatzistefanis
Maria is the founder of a few companies but most notably Rodial and Nip + Fab – two amazing skincare brands which if you have not yet tried, I recommend you do. Nonetheless, she has had many difficulties along her entrepreneurial journey. This is ultimately what inspired her to write her two books – How to be an overnight success and Make it Happen. She discusses that any success journey is filled with ups and downs, wins and failures but that is ultimately what eventually brings success. There is no such thing as an overnight success. You have to learn from every setback and capitalise on every small win. Most importantly you have got to be willing to work hard… continually!
11. RACHEL HOLLIS
When in doubt, try it out – Failure is better than regret
“When you really want something, you will find a way. When you don’t really want something, you’ll find an excuse. The only thing worse than giving up is wishing that you hadn’t.” – Rachel Hollis
This is such an important point from Rachel Hollis an American author, motivational speaker, and blogger.
Take a moment now and visualise what you would do and how high you would aim if you knew you could not fail. Just imagine it! This is what you should be aiming for because likely this is the thing you desire the most. Now in real life, there is no way to guarantee success. Sometimes there are factors beyond our control. However, even if there is only a small possibility of winning, would you not regret it if you didn’t even try. If it means so much to you have nothing to lose, even if you fail, you will only end up where you already were. You lose nothing by trying!
12. WHITNEY WOLFE HERD
Complacency is worse than having something not work out.
“Don’t be scared of the ‘what ifs,’ because the truth is, the only failure is not trying. That’s the only way you can fail. Trying and having it not work out isn’t a failure. I think fear and fear of the unknown and perceived failure are what hold people back. For me, I am more scared of complacency than having something not work out. I’d rather take a leap of faith and fall than stand on the edge forever.” – Whitney Wolfe Herd
Whitney Wolfe Herd is the founder of the popular dating app Bumble, and she has experienced many filings along her way both in her academic life and in her entrepreneurship journey. Comfort zones are dangerous. If you stay in your comfort zone, you are playing it safe and not enjoying what your life has to offer to the fullest. Complacency is the killer of success and of dreams. Complacency is in a sense failure because it holds you back from achieving what your heart truly desires. If you want to prevent failure do not go out into the world, stay in a safe place. If on the other hand, you want to taste success you’ve got to put yourself out into the world and grab every opportunity.
13. JESSICA HERRIN
Failure is the beginning and the middle, but never the end.
“You have to see failure as the beginning and the middle, but never entertain it as an end.” – Jessica Herrin
Jessica Herrin is the founder of the jewellery company Stella & Dot.
If you simply accept that your failure is only the beginning or the middle of the journey but not the finale then you cannot possibly ever “fail”. This is such an incredible mindset shift that can change your relationship with failure and setbacks. With this mindset, you are simply not willing to accept that failing is the end. When setbacks and disappointment arise rather than giving in to them you get back up and try and try until you get there. It could also mean that the setback will set you on a different pathway that you didn’t even think of that might end up bringing you more success and more happiness than the original plan.
14. SOME WISDOM FROM ME
Don't let the fear of what others will think hold you back.
Now I do not consider myself to be in the same league as the women above, but I have had my share of successes and my share of failures in my life.
The most valuable thing that I have learned about failure was the true reason why I was so afraid of it. When I did a deep dive, I realised that what scared me the most was the thought of what other people would think of me. Will they think less of me? Will they be disappointed in me?
I saw that this stems from deeper issues that needed to be addressed. Once I let go of this negative way of seeing failure it was liberating. I now know that people who truly care about me, the people that truly matter, will never think less of me and could never be disappointed in me. Definitely not for trying and giving it my all. When I let go of the fear, I felt the courage come back. I felt brave again to take on the next challenge. I saw failure as the lesson I needed to help me get on the right path, that will get me to exactly where I should be.
On a Final Note.
Failure is the pathway to success. Most people who are extremely successful today have had their share of disappointments and shortcomings. I hope you can see from the examples above that what each and every one of these 14 women have in common is many failures.
Their wise word of encouragement about making failure your friend come from their own experiences. What led to their success is that they did not give up when faced with difficulties. They got back up and put on a fight to get to where they are. They were consistent. They did not take no for an answer. These women did not hide or stay in their comfort zone after failing. They took on more challenges and carried on. This is the most important message.
Failure does not define the rest of your life and the success you can have. It is simply there to make you stronger and better for when you come to achieving your success.
Book Recommendations
#2
How to Be an Overnight Success: Making It in Business – by Maria Hatzistefanis.
