Did We Fail?
Photo by The Impaler
With excitement and enthusiasm we started our small business. No longer did we have the security of a weekly paycheck. We now were on our own to generate an income to provide us with the money to live. I was a little anxious about our ability to do this. But, Byron believed in our products, and more so, believed in our ability to succeed.
So, we worked and produced a number of products to sell. We invested heavily in a market that provides local crafts for cruise ships coming into our area. The first ships arrived, and we barely made enough money to pay our expenses. We now had our money invested in the booth that we had rented for the summer and fall months. We had a lot of money tied up in materials. But, we did not have enough money to cover our monthly bills. We were discouraged, and the thoughts of failure ran through our heads.
As we discussed our options, I happened to read the quote by Mary Pickford:
“If you have made mistakes…
there is always another chance for you…
you may have a fresh start any moment you choose,
for this thing we call ‘Failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.”
This quote reinforced my determination and Byron’s belief that we could succeed. We did fall down, but we were determined not to stay down! So, we stepped back and refocused. We came up with new products using existing materials. We redesigned our booth set up. We reviewed our pricing structure. And, we started making enough money to pay our bills.
My point in sharing our story is that if we had done nothing, if we allowed ourselves to “stay down”, then we would have failed. But, we made the choice to learn from our mistakes, and we moved forward with more determination. Mary Pickford’s quote offers a much better perspective on failure - a chance for a fresh start! The most important point here is “choice” because you decide how you view your failure, you decide if you stay down.
There are many stories of people who chose not to stay down:
- The Beatles’ first audition - the recording company rejected them.
- Lucille Ball, the actress, was told to try another profession.
- Authors who have received numerous rejection slips, but they kept going until they were published.
Remember, how you view “failure” is entirely up to you.
About The Author :
Catherine Pulsifer is one of my favorite personal development experts. She has published plenty of great articles and also self- published Inspirational & Motivational Books : Wings of Wisdom, Wings for Goals, and Wings for Work.
Catherine Pulsifer has her own website. You may visit her at http://www.wow4u.com
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Tags: catherine pulsifer, failure, motivation, motivational, optimism, personal development, self improvement, Success
Its ok to fall down, but its not ok to stay down. In order to succeed we must believe and be determined to succeed.
Many Blessings….
Hugo and Roxanne
~Believe Achieve~
Success in any business needs one to have confidence in whatever products they are marketing. Price is not the main criteria.
Regards,
CC ANG
http://angchuanchooi.com
Hi Arswino
I think one needs to always aim to reframe “failure”.
See the learning, or see that it will open the way for an improved approach etc.
Juliet
Arswino, a great example with the lesson of learning from failure instead of dwelling and lingering on it. The point of getting yourself back up to keep on going requires that we think about failure as part of success instead of the opposite of it. No success has ever occurred without failure along side it.
No matter how much I understand the benefits of failure, it’s always nice to read inspiring reminders like this post. I’m not receiving as many sales as I would like with my current online service, but I’m not giving up. I recognize I need to market my services to the right people. And over time I will tweak my approach, services, and marketing ability. I’m thrilled I’m putting my services out there and over time I’ll hit that home run.
Generally, failure is a message that you simply need to adjust or change something to get closer to success. If you view failure as a message, rather than a catastrophe, you will take your failures easier and get back up rather than staying down. Thanks for the great story!
Hi Hugo and Roxanne, you have inspired me so much with the word ‘believe’. Thank you.
Hi Ang, thank you for visiting and leaving a comment.
I agree with you Ang, price is not the main criteria.
Hi Juliet, you’re right, we get many learning from a failure. Thank you for the comment, Juliet.
Hi Mike, yes we must dare to fail to success. Thank you Mike for your comment.
Hi Stacey, thank you for the compliment and I like your passion, indeed.
I think your passion has inspired many people out there. Thanks also for commenting, Stacey.
Hi Amanda, you’re welcome. I like when you said failure is something we need to get closer to success. Thanks for the comment, Amanda.
Hi Arswino,
This was a good post to read on a Monday. It puts me in a much better frame of mind to consider possible “failures” as opportunities. Thanks :~)
I’d like to encourage all who are facing difficulties to keep their spirits up with this saying “There is no such thing as failure, only feedback”. All the best!
Hi Arswino
I was listening to the radio today, and a the song writer was giving an interview and answering a question, “How do a person have an album?” The answer from the song writer was: “It is simple, you write a lot of songs and one of them get accepted. Then all you have to do it to do it 12 times then you will have an album.”
Thanks,
Giovanna Garcia
Imperfect Action is better than No Action
Hi Sara, you’re welcome. Thank you for commenting Sara
Hi Evelyn, beautiful encouragement from you. I like the word feedback than failure. Thank you Evelyn
Hi Giovanna, I love the example. The insight is we have to do more times. Thank you for the comment, Giovanna
It is ok to fail, as long as you learn why you failed and improve on your next attempt!
Hello!
Very Interesting post! Thank you for such interesting resource!
PS: Sorry for my bad english, I’v just started to learn this language
See you!
Your, Raiul Baztepo