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The power of failure
The game has been close, the competition intense. Now, trailing by one
point and with only seconds left on the clock, the coach calls a time out. The
players gather around the coach but everyone already knows what he is going to
say: Get the ball to Michael and let him take the shot.
The game begins again and everything seems to move in slow motion. The ball
is passed to Michael. He moves toward the goal, eluding all who would deter him.
He dribbles once and then again. There it is! He goes up and shoots.
The ball seems to hang in mid air. It floats toward the goal, closer and
closer. Then, the unbelievable happens. The ball hits the rim and bounces out of
the hoop. The great Michael Jordan has missed the game shot!
Think it can’t happen? Oh sure, you say, it could happen once or twice, but
certainly no more than that.
Not long ago Michael Jordan did a Nike commercial in which he admitted
taking the game-winning shot and missing, not once, not twice, but 26 times!
Imagine that. The great Michael Jordan blowing the game shot 26 times.
But what if he had let those failures determine his course? What if, after
missing those crucial shots, he decided he must not be destined for success
after all? Where would he be now?
Failure can be devastating. It
often means the death of a dream and the realization of
a nightmare. When one fails, it seems as if all is lost.
But through the years as a businessman, I have learned to think of failure
more as a neutral force—much the same as electricity which, if tamed and
harnessed, can produce tremendous power.
What power could there possibly be in losing a sale, failing a test or
being rejected in a date proposal? Through failure, you gain the one thing that
cannot be gotten without making the attempt: experience!
What value is experience? Immense value! Why? Because the next time you
make your attempt, the situation already will be familiar to you.
You already will know the battlefield. Every good warrior studies the
terrain of the coming battle so he can know how to best deploy his forces. If
you’ve already fought a battle there once, then you already are familiar with
the terrain! The next time you encounter the same type of situation (and you
most likely will encounter it again), the advantage is yours and you won’t be
caught by surprise.
Ask yourself what areas you are avoiding because of fear of failure. Decide
today to no longer be intimidated by failure but to face it head on, and dare to
take another shot.
© 2004 Charles Marshall. Charles Marshall is a motivational speaker, motivational author and president of M Power Resources, LLC. Visit his Web site at www.MPowerResources.com or contact him via e-mail at charles@MPowerResources.com.
