Failure is a stepping stone towards success. But the information that you gather only has power when it is applied to real life situations. Failure is Feedback when you can learn different lessons from the failure, and that puts you on your way to success.
It is easy to feel like a failure when something does not work out.
It is first instinct to feel disappointed when your project or start-up fails.
At that moment, you could not care less about feedback from failure.
And then there is Steve Jobs. The man had so many failures that he spent millions to create mass amnesia so that no one would remember. But here is his list:
Apple Lisa – which got Jobs fired from Apple
NEXT – the company had hardware issues, but the software division got sold back to Apple, and that is when Jobs returned to Apple.
Apple III
1996 Macintosh
ROKR phone
Power Mac G4 Cube
MobileMe
But with so many failures, he was more intent on succeeding and creating a company that will stand for something a generation or two from now.
What would have happened if Jobs had stopped? What would the world look like now?
No iPod, iPad, iPhone or Macbook.
No personal network of over $10 billion.
Howard Lipset, CPA
Progressive Management, Inc.
(516) 883-2962
lipset@progressivemanage.com