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We've all been there...

Ever felt like this?

Today I happened across a video showing a halftime celebration honoring the 1991 NBA Champion Chicago Bulls. (awesome video. totally worth checking out)

While watching I was transported back into the days of my youth watching Michael Jordan and the Bulls and just knowing in my soul that I was going to be a basketball star.

I was so passionate about the sport that I even used to sleep with my basketball in the bed with me. (don’t judge me) I really thought that I would make it to the NBA.

To make a long story very short, that didn’t happen. It was an early experience with failure that was devastating for me at the time.

I was reminded that me and failure go back like Lazer Tag and Alf reruns. I don’t say this as a source of pride. (trust) And each failure at the time felt like the end of the world as I knew it.

Along the way there have been other equally devastating experiences with failure that have helped to shape and define my life.  I now realize more or and more that It’s never been about the failure. It’s always about the lessons learned and what I’ve done afterward that have mattered. I just took what I learned and applied it towards new goals.

The thing is, I am not alone. This is not just my story. We all have felt the sting and the heartbreak of a goal that we didn’t quite attain, a plan that went wrong, a business that didn’t work out, a job we didn’t get or even a woman/man that rejected us.

Sure, it hurts like hell at the time but then guess what we learn? It’s never the end of the world. Ever. No matter how bad it seemed at the time.

Failure leads to success. It’s just that simple.

Keep on trying. Yes you may keep on failing but you will gain a small key with every defeat. Each key will unlock a door on your own road to eventual success.

It’s so damn easy to give up. It’s much harder to dust yourself off and keep trying. But you MUST keep trying! The saddest thing in the world is to see when people allow their failures to completely rob them of their hearts true desires.

Then they descend into cynicism and/or bitterness and also attempt to rob others from even TRYING to achieve. Don’t be that loser/hater.

You know what’s even worse than quitting because of failure? Regret. She’s a cruel one that regret. Always there and constantly whispering in your ear to remind you that you went out like a little punk. You don’t wanna hear that voice for the rest of your life do you? Didn’t think so.

Don’t be scared to try and just know that you may not always succeed. Don’t let that or anything else stop you from continuing on you journey. You will like where the road leads you and how you will feel when you arrive at your final destination.

Here are some cool quotes on failure that I think you will enjoy:

To fail is a natural consequence of trying, To succeed takes time and prolonged effort in the face of unfriendly odds. To think it will be any other way, no matter what you do, is to invite yourself to be hurt and to limit your enthusiasm for trying -David Viscott

 

Failure is not falling but refusing to get up -Chinese Proverb

 

Failure doesn’t mean that you are a failure…it just means you haven’t succeed yet. -Robert Schuller

How do you stay motivated to persist past failure? Do you have any favorite quotes that motivate you to keep going? Share some of them in the comments!

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