In fact, if you go to the souvenir shop at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, you can purchase shirts, hats, license plates, key chains and other trinkets with this quote emblazoned on them.
Okay, I'll confess. I bought a license plate that now hangs on the wall of my office.
However, what if we modify this statement and instead ask of our self - "Is failure an option"?
If you think about it carefully you will find that the answer is Yes!
I'm postulating that many of you are surprised and even shocked by my response. I'll also bet that many of you are so terrified of failure so much to the degree that you would never attempt to try anything new - no matter how small or large.
Let me ask you this...if you aren't willing to take risks and make mistakes, how will you ever learn and grow - as a man, a woman, a father, a mother, a friend or other?
Failure is part of the process of learning - ANYTHING. You can gain far more wisdom from failure much more than from your successes and triumphs. You will more often find out what will truly work, by reviewing and learning from your mistakes.
When you begin your journey on any new venture - whether it is a business, a personal or professional relationship, or other challenge - you are going to run into difficulties from time to time. The individual who is successful in overcoming failure never loses their nerve, goes to pieces or loses control of them self. And they never give up on finding a solution. They also never see or categorize them self as a failure.
The most successful people fail well and fail gracefully. Look at any great inventor, such as an Edison, and you will find that they failed far more than they succeeded. When you look at the very best athletes, you will find many that lose more contests than they win. (Remember, second place is the first in a long line of losers). Or, even top salespeople who are superstars at what they do. They know they will experience far more rejections than for every sale they close.
In the same way that you learn to win, learn to fail. When you realize that failure is a normal part of life and learning, you will be more accepting of your self, and your self esteem and outlook will improve.
Amar Gopal Bose, the founder of Bose Corporation said, "No one ever won a chess game by betting on each move. Sometimes you have to move backward to get a step forward."
Change your approach to thinking of failure as being equal to a negative outcome. We all fail. If you can learn from, rather than breaking down and giving up under the pressure of failure, you will achieve far, far, far more than those that do not.
