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Who doesn’t want to be a success? It’s what people, particularly financial advisors, strive for every day. No one wants to be a failure. But did it ever occur to you that it’s virtually impossible to be a success without failing? Successful people must be very comfortable with failure because they probably fail more often than they succeed. They’re successful because they use their failures as learning experiences to propel them forward.
Yet, many people seem to have such a dysfunctional relationship with failure that they can’t see the value in it, choosing instead to avoid it by not taking the same risks that led to it. That’s not learning. That’s capitulation, which never leads to success.
You are going to fail. So, learn to embrace it and leverage it!
As a financial advisor, you are bound to make mistakes or come up short of expectations. It’s called life. You probably can’t count or even remember the number of times you failed growing up. But that didn’t hold you back. After all, you’re a financial advisor now.
But now, mistakes and failures seem more glaring because the stakes are higher. If you get discouraged when you fail, you’re not using the experience to your advantage. Now is the time to embrace failure because it can catapult you to success.
Here are five reasons why financial advisors should use failure to their advantage:
#1. Failure is part of life experiences
You’ve been failing since you first tried to walk or play a new sport. Failure is built into our life experiences. But each one is a new experience providing the opportunity to learn to make life better. When thought of this way, failure breeds wisdom, which ultimately breeds success.
#2. Failure builds confidence
You know you’re going to fail at some things. If you lack confidence in your abilities, you’ll probably fail more often. But if you use the experience to learn and grow, to understand what went wrong so you can gain knowledge and overcome it, there is no better confidence builder.
#3. Failure teaches you to appreciate success
When you look around at those who have achieved success, you can know they experienced failure many times along the way. Just ask them. They’ll be glad to share their experiences because it makes them feel more appreciative of their success. Your success is not about how others perceive it or the expectations others have for you. It’s about feeling accomplished and content, even with the slightest achievement.
#4. Failure makes you think
Facing your failures makes you think more. You don’t want to make the same mistake again, so you think of another way to achieve your goal. That’s how the world innovates. Thomas Edison failed many more times than he succeeded, which is what led him to invent the light bulb.
#5. Failure keeps you humble
Some of the most successful people in the world have failed. Michael Jordan failed to make his high school varsity basketball team as a sophomore. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter was turned down by 12 publishers. Steven Spielberg was rejected three times by the U.S.C. film school. Steve Jobs was fired by his own company (Apple Computer).
There are many more. Yet, they all went on to achieve spectacular success. They were never discouraged. They used their failures to launch them further into their careers. But I will bet you dollars to donuts that they will never forget their failures, and no matter how much they enjoy their success, they know it is because of their failures.
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