Failure Is Critical to Success

Quoted from Zig Ziglar:

With dreams there's no need to go to dreamland via drugs and alcohol.

"You've got to learn to lose in order to win" sounds like strange advice, but the man who says it has earned over $300 million. Even in today's economy, that's a considerable sum of money. Here's the story.

In 1958 Frank and Dan Carney started a pizza parlor across from their family's grocery store. Their goal was to pay for their college educations.Nineteen years later, Frank Carney sold the 3100 outlet chain called "Pizza Hut" for $300 million.

Carney's advice to those starting out in business sounds strange, but he explains the concept this way: I've been involved in about fifty different business ventures and about fifteen of them were successful. That means I have about a thirty percent success average." The major point Frank makes is this: You need to be "at bat" if you ever expect to get a hit, and it's even more important to step back up to the plate after you strike out.

Carney says Pizza Hut was successful because he learned from his mistakes.For example, when Oklahoma City expansion effort failed, he realised the importance of location and decor. He learned from his mistake so that the future would be brighter. When sales declined in New York, he came up with the innovative idea of introducing thick crust, with substantial success. When regional pizza houses began to take part of the market share, Frank responded by introducing "Chicago-style pizza," and again success came his way. Factually, Carney failed many times but in each case he made those failures work for him.

Failure is an experience common to all of us.

Question: Will you let those failures work for you or against you? If you do as Frank Carney did, you will use your failures as learning experiences.
Unquote.

Some learning points:
1) Learn to lose in order to win
2) Realised the importance of location and decor.
3) Came up with the innovative idea.
4) Responded (take actions)
5) Made those failures work for you.
6) Failure is an experience common. 

We can teach ourselves and our children some of the learning points above. Don't give up because you fail once or twice. Thomas Edison had 1,000 tries to invent the light bulb. In other words, he failed a whopping 999 times before he reached success. Soon after Edison revealed his earth-shattering invention, a French reporter asked, “Mr. Edison, how did it feel to fail 999 times?” As the story goes, Thomas Edison just smiled and replied, “Young man, I have not failed 999 times. I have simply found 999 ways how not to create a light bulb.”

Today, many adults are not able to face failure. This started when they were young. Many parents expect their children to excel and do well, and protect them from failures or expect no failure from them. Hence, when these children become adults,  they may not have the tenacity to face failure.

Allow your child to fail. When he failed, guide him to overcome.