The value of failure is being recognized more and more in business, education, leadership, and elsewhere.
Thomas Edison is once said to have remarked: “I have not failed, I have tried 700 ways that did not work.”
When you visit Edison’s Menlo Park laboratory you’ll notice a long wall with scores of possible lightbulb filaments displayed on it. Edison experimented with hundreds of different materials during the course of creating his lightbulb before he settled on the one that worked best.
“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration,” is another one of Edison’s useful maxims.
Try, try, and try again.
Think of the 10,000 hour rule, which sets the measure for how long it takes to become an expert in any activity.
Think about it.
We become successful at the things we do, not the things we think about doing.
Try it.
You are not failing, you are attempting possibilities that are not working.
Keep at it.
The 700th filament doesn’t show up until you’ve worked through 699.
What are you willing to try today?