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March 27 - March 27, 2025
2000 by John C. Maxwell
People are training for success when they should be training for failure. Failure is far more common than success; poverty is more prevalent than wealth;
and disappointment more normal than arrival. —J. WALLACE HAMILTON
Failing Backward Failing Forward •Blaming Others •Taking Responsibility •Repeating the Same Mistakes •Learning from Each Mistake •Expecting Never to Fail Again •Knowing Failure Is a Part of Progress •Expecting to Continually Fail •Maintaining a Positive Attitude •Accepting Tradition Blindly •Challenging Outdated Assumptions •Being Limited by Past Mistakes •Taking New Risks •Thinking I am a Failure •Believing Something Didn’t Work •Quitting •Persevering
People Think Failure Is Avoidable—It’s Not
the saying “To err is human, to forgive divine.”
Alexander Pope wrote that more than 2...
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And he was only paraphrasing a saying that was common 2,000 years ago, during...
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People who see failure as the enemy are captive to those who conquer it.
People who fail forward are able to see errors or negative experiences as a regular part of life, learn from them, and then move on.
The terrible truth is that all roads to achievement lead through the land of failure.
Failure isn’t so bad if it doesn’t attack the heart. Success is all right if it doesn’t go to the head.
Tell yourself, “I’m not a failure. I failed at doing something.” There’s a big difference.
When achievers fail, they see it as a momentary event, not a lifelong epidemic.
You’re Too Old to Cry, but It Hurts Too Much to Laugh
The first important step in weathering failure is learning not to personalize it.
Self-pity.
Excuses.
Misused energy.
Hopelessness.
Life is not simply holding a good hand. Life is playing a poor hand well. —DANISH SAYING
One reason God created time was so that there would be a place to bury the failures of the past.
In more than thirty years of working with people, I have yet to meet a successful person who continually dwelled on his past difficulties.
In my experience, the problems of people’s pasts impact them in one of two ways: They experience either a breakdown or a breakthrough.
See Yourself Clearly
Admit Your Flaws Honestly
Discover Your Strengths Joyfully
Build on Those Strengths Passionately
To excel, do what you do well.
Generous people are rarely mentally ill people.
When you know people’s values, you can add value to them.
Finding Out What Others Need
People naturally tend toward inertia. That’s why self-improvement is such a struggle. But
TRAPS THAT MAKE PEOPLE BACK AWAY FROM RISK
The Embarrassment Trap
The Rationalization Trap
Spend sufficient time confirming the need, and the need will disappear.
The Unrealistic Expectation Trap
If there is no wind, row. —LATIN PROVERB
To succeed, you have to be open to problems. You have to be open to failure. And as you go up the ladder, you gain the right to get more problems.
