Keep Failing!

I’ve thought about quitting before. I’ve thought about giving up and never making another attempt because things were too hard. I am not the only person who has felt this way. We all hit a wall at some time or another and see no way of getting around it. The wall is too high. It’s too wide. It’s blocking your path and telling you to turn around and walk in the other direction.

Walls, also known as obstacles, can be intimidating. And if you hit one hard enough, the pain you feel from the impact will hurt so badly that you will never want to even get close to one again. Much later after hitting one, you will be traveling down your new path, focused on the destination you have a vision of reaching. And you will see another wall ahead. At its mere sight, you will become fearful. You will remember the pain of your last encounter. The bruises that never quite healed. The scratches you wear as a constant reminder of the fall. You will convince yourself that another, different location will be just as fulfilling as the one on the other side of the wall. And you will turn and walk away.

This is what unsuccessful people do. When an unsuccessful person hits a wall and falls down, she gets up and turns and walks away. More often than not, she runs away and never looks back. Or, he lies there, or props himself up against the wall, and simply gets comfortable where he is. This is how unsuccessful people settle into mediocrity. This is how they become afraid of failing. “If I stay here and stop trying to move forward, then I will never meet anymore walls,” they think.

Now, let’s take a look at how successful people react. There is a well-known quote from Thomas Edison on his invention of the light bulb in which he stated, “I have not failed 10,000 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 10,000 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.” Edison, known as the most successful inventor of all times, didn’t quit when he encountered an obstacle. Each time, he became more knowledgeable and figured out what worked and what did not. With every unsuccessful attempt, he got one step closer to success. Did he become frustrated at one time or another? Probably so. Did he take a break and work on something else for a while and come back to the light bulb later? Who know? What we do know is that he kept moving forward.

Unlike an unsuccessful person, Edison did not focus on pain when he hit a wall. He didn’t stop inventing. He didn’t give up on the idea of controlling electricity and light, as we so effortlessly do today. When he hit a wall, he wasn’t being knocked down. Edison was instead knocking the wall down! With each attempt, each obstacle, he weakened the wall until he was finally able to knock it over. Once the wall fell, Edison was able to move forward to the destination he had always envisioned reaching.

            This example might be over a hundred years old, but the concept is still valid today. Kobe Bryant knocked down his own walls to become arguably one of the greatest players to play the game of basketball. Before announcing his retirement this year, Bryant was drafted into the NBA straight from high school, won 5 NBA championships, and also won one MVP award. Additionally, Bryant ranks as the NBA’s #3 all-time top scorer and even scored 81 points in a single game!

            Kobe’s career is one that he likely imagined as a young boy dreaming of being an NBA star basketball player. But, Kobe hit his own walls many times in his 19 years on the court. On his way to become one of the top scorers of all time, Kobe set another record: most missed shots by a single player. This means one thing in particular as it pertains to knocking down walls: when Kobe missed a shot, he shot again. Some players might decide not to shoot again if they miss consecutive shots. They might instead decide to pass the ball out of fear that their next shot might also be off-target. These type of players don’t miss many shots, but they also don’t become MVPs, championship winners, or top scorers.*

            My life coach said something yesterday that stood out to me. I’m not exactly sure where the quote came from, but it was something along the lines of this: Successful people fail more times than unsuccessful people try. This sounds about right, when we think of the two legends we’ve mentioned here. More missed shots than some players ever take. More unsuccessful invention attempts than most inventors ever make. It seems that the best keep going, no matter how many times they hit a wall. 

            Yes, I have thought about quitting before. When things seemed too tough and a wall was obstructed my view of success. But, here I am. And here you are. With me writing this and you reading it, it is clear that we both still have intentions of moving forward towards our own individual greatness. And there is nothing like the determination to break down walls! So, when you hit a wall, don’t just lie there or get up and limp away. Hit it again! And again! Eventually, the wall will tumble and you will have a clear view of the destination you have always seen in your mind: success.

*Also on the top 10 list of most missed shots in NBA history: Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Dominique Dawkins, Allan Iverson, and Dirk Nowitzki