Henry Ford once said, “In order to be successful in this world, one must learn to look at failure through the eyes of an optimist.” Ford understood that success is not achieved over night, and that failure must be dealt with along the road. Through the experiences of famous individuals who have faced failure, it is clear that individuals learn and strive from their efforts even if their goal is not reached.
Thomas Edison is one of the most prominent entrepreneurs in American history, and he serves as a prime example of how failed efforts are still educative. Edison faced adversity in his pursuit of inventing a long lasting light bulb, as he failed over 1,000 times. However, when a reporter asked Edison about his failed attempts, Edison replied by saying, “I have not failed 1000 times. I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways to not make a light bulb.” By learning from his failed attempts, Edison finally invented the light bulb, and proves that failed efforts are not wasted efforts.
Effective learning taking place even when success is not reached, is also seen with former President George W. Bush. When Bush was in high school, he ran for class president only to fail in his attempt and lose the election. He may have lost the election, but his efforts would not go to waste. Bush would learn from his experience and go on to never lose another election.
Like Edison and Bush, undoubtedly successful entrepreneur Henry Ford also learned from his failures. Ford started 3 companies before he found success in the Ford Motor Company. Ford’s companies went out of business due to low sales numbers, when his consumers were disappointed with high prices and low quality. Ford learned from these experiences and decided to listen to his market. Ford began to mass produce vehicles customers both wanted and were able to afford. This allowed Ford Motor Co. to become a huge success and comes to show that failed efforts are never wasted efforts.
Failure to reach one’s goals is often seen as crushing and humiliating, but as the examples of Edison, Bush, and Ford have come to prove, failure is exactly the opposite. Individuals facing failure, use it as a source of knowledge and guidance which ultimately guides them to the path of success.