Hello everyone,

We have all had a taste of success or victory and can definitely say a thing or two about it. There are times we feel like we are on top of the world and think it will all be rosy as from that point hence forth only to come back to a state of dejection, gloominess or even failure. At Las, even 'happily ever after' does not exist in the real world for after a happy moment, a time of sadness is bound to surely come. And that's what life is truly about.

But no one wants failure nor the taste it leaves behind. Taste of failure is definitely not better than the taste of success but a memorable one, because unless and until you know what failure is, you won't give respect to your success that it deserves.

Here is what Dr. Geoffrey Livingston has to say about the taste of failure;

Sometimes you try to achieve things with all that you’ve got, and then you fail. Some say failure is good, that it teaches you what not to do, etc., etc.

I agree, failing is part of the process of learning how to win. But I never like failing, particularly when I feel like it happened on my watch because of choices I made.

I can feel the acid burning my gut. I always hate failure.

Last week I experienced such a failure. It wasn’t on a public project, so let’s not read too much into things. Nevertheless, I failed. What made it worse was that I felt really good about the situation, rehearsed and worked hard, and put in extra time to get ready.

He had an afterwards testimony of using this failure to his advantage and after a week he said:

At least I am laughing about it a week later.

Nevertheless, it bugged me. Looking back there were mistakes like a critical flaw in evaluating my audience. A big disconnect occurred. Plus, I was exhausted and that didn’t help anything.

So, I did what I always do when I fail. I got back up the next day, and started working on the next big thing, which is planning the 2014 edition of xPotomac (Patrick Ashamalla and Shonali Burke are joining me again as co-hosts this year).

Because that’s what I do. I get back up.

Learn from your failure

Many people while they hate failure fail to learn from it. And this creates a vacuum in them which, instead of channeling them towards success, they receive what they hated the most, FAILURE! So, failing isn't the main thing, the main thing is if you are willing to take advantage of the nasty taste it leaves behind and make the best out of it.

I love the way Aseem Puri puts it;

Remember the Taste of Failure

We tend to forget failure.

Its painful.

It hurts our ego to remember.

When we do remember, it is often followed by justification. If only …I didn’t do it…it wasn’t me.

However failure is the most important teacher we have – as it is real life evidence of what worked and what did not. Most successful people have a long litany of failures before achieving success. The key is their lessons and learnings that they absorb from failure.

-         Mark Zuckerberg had multiple failed start ups before Facebook

-         Lincoln lost scores of elections before he started winning

-         Usain Bolt in his first Olympics was not even in the final finishing line image, failing badly

-         Gandhi’s first 15 years of agitation and protest did not have any impact on the British

Key is to remember the taste of failure.

To reflect over what happened, why it happened and what were the lessons from failure.

Then write it down and record the lessons.

Should you have planned better

Did you need a better partner or partners

Did you miss addressing a key gap in your proposal

Were you persistent enough

Did you listen to the other side

Were you too stubborn to find a conclusion

Record it . write it down. Absorb it in your mind.

The taste of failure is painful. That’s why once u remember it you don’t forget.

Edison failed 1000s of times before getting the bulb right. Each time it didn’t work was a lesson in what not to do and hence what do try next.

Failure is but a milestone on the inevitable journey to success.

Remember the taste of failure. It will take you to the sweet nectar of victory.

Source

Conclusion

So, to you, what does failure tastes like?

In the race of life, failures are like taking the steps backward to get the momentum and accelerate towards success. When you take the lessons from the mistakes, then failure becomes the highway to success. The great scientist Thomas A Edison said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Failure is not that bad and can be sweeter when tasted with hard work and determination to succeed.

Don't let that ugly taste of failure keep you from moving forward rather let it project to the front line of your breakthrough, Shalom

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