“If you have made mistakes—even serious ones—there is always another chance for you. For what we call failure is not the falling down, but the staying down.”
—Mary Pickford
The headline said, “Jordan Spieth’s collapse at the Masters the most shocking in golf history.” After being in the lead through 5 days of this major golf tournament, he blew that lead in spectacular fashion, driving his ball into the water and sand traps and taking 7 shots to get the ball in the hole instead of the average 3.
It was horrible to watch. And then, since he had won the Masters the previous year, he had to attend the winner’s ceremony and put the new green jacket on someone else.
Which he did like the absolute champion he is.
So… he had a bad day. Is this going to determine his future? No. Is this going to make him work harder? Yes. That’s what champions do.
After Sony’s Columbia Records label canceled her, Alicia Keys sold 5.5 million copies of her next album for their competitor and won 5 Grammys.
Alanis Morrisette was turned down by record company after record company, until Maverick took her on and her debut album Jagged Little Pill sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.
Bonnie Raitt shot to the top of the charts with two back-to-back albums on Capitol Records that spawned hit singles and won 3 Grammys apiece—right after her prior record company fired her.
Losing fires up winners. Their response when someone tells them they aren’t good enough, they can’t do it, or they’re a loser is “Oh, yeah? Watch this!” They use the rejection as an energetic launching pad to redouble their efforts, sharpen their creativity, and prove the naysayers wrong.
So how many times have you tried to achieve your goal? What does it take to keep on keeping on? How strong is your vision? How strong is your belief in yourself?
It is, in the end, a self-esteem issue. You have to believe in yourself when no one else does. You have to believe in yourself, or no one else is going to. It helps to bolster your belief when you have a lot of fabulous friends who will sing to you, “You can do it! You can do anything you put your mind to! We love you! We believe in you!”
Then it’s up to you to believe what they are telling you. If your friends think you are fabulous, you are. If your friends think you should go for it, you should. If your group is full of naysayers—look for a new group!
But there is another benefit to failure.
Years ago, I read a piece about Greg Norman, who also famously choked and lost a championship in a similar fashion to Jordan Spieth. But he said that he was shocked at how many wonderful notes of appreciation and good cheer he received afterwards. He got many more letters than he had ever received after his wins and never felt so loved. “And,” he said, “I did it by losing.”
We think people love us because we’re successful, but that isn’t it. People love us because we’re us. Remember that losing is a big part of winning, and in order to win, you have to be willing to fail. When you fail, your friends will lift you up and love you.
That’s winning, too.
