Many people have bought into the myth that failure is fatal and is something that should be avoided. In reality, failure is nothing more than a very effective learning experience. Most of our greatest accomplishments were made possible through failure—learning to walk, ride a bike and drive. Why should the rest of our life be any different? As my father used to say, “Talk with any self-made millionaire and you’ll find they’ve gone broke at least three or four times.” Why? These people took risks, failed, learned from their failures, and tried again. Each failure taught them some very important lessons that ultimately paved the way to their success. On the other hand, not trying something because you’re afraid of failing sets you up for regret. There are few things in life that are worse than asking yourself over and again, “I wonder what would have happened if I had followed my dream when I had the chance.” As John Greenleaf Whittier put it, “Of all sad words of tongue and pen, that saddest are these, ‘it might have been.’”
