Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success

by John C. Maxwell

University of Pennsylvania psychology professor Martin Seligman, who has studied employees in thirty different industries, observes, “The people who bounce back are optimists.”2 Let’s face it. Not everyone is naturally optimistic. Some people are born seeing the glass half empty rather than half full. But no matter what your natural bent is, you can become a more optimistic person. How do you cultivate optimism? By learning the secret of contentment. If you can learn that, then no matter what happens to you, you can weather the storm and build on the good you find in any situation. Contentment. That’s not a popular concept these days. One reason is that our culture actually discourages the idea of contentment. People are continually bombarded with the message, “What you have isn’t enough. You need more—a bigger house, a better car, a larger salary, whiter teeth, sweeter breath, nicer clothes . . .” The list is endless. But the truth is that possessing healthy contentment is essential to being able to withstand failure.