Born 1963, Michael Jordan is a former professional basketball player and also the owner of the Charlotte Hornets team.
Called “the greatest basketball player of all time,” Jordan’s professional career is something for the history books, with a game play that will likely be unmatched and unrivaled for decades to come.
At the age of 15-years old, while a sophomore in high school, Jordan was passed up for the varsity basketball team, instead being assigned to the junior varsity team.
He cried after he saw that list without his name on it.
But instead of giving up, his mom convinced him to push forward.
Every time he thought about stopping his training, he would picture that list without his name on it.
He was able to take failure in stride.
He allowed it to push him rather than to entirely defeat him.
At the age of 21-years old, he entered the NBA as a professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls, where he would go on to win six championship titles and become one of the most impactful players to ever grace the courts.
Jordan is credited with once saying that, ”I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Source – wanderlustworker
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So, what can we learn from these historical Successful Failures?
They were beaten down and “lost” at many things, yet they kept persevering.
They didn’t give up. They weren’t afraid to “take the shot”!
Their desire to succeed overrode any fears they may have had.
Do you give up when failure strikes?
Or, do you take your failures and find the “silver lining” and learn from the situation?
I hope you take these examples and examine your own life and make any necessary adjustments to turn the corner.
Take these famous Successful Failures and use them to build the desire and determination to “pick yourself up” and keep reaching for your dreams just like Dickinson, Gates, Honda and Jordon did.
To your future success,
- Duane Eberhard
PS – Watch this video of another Successful Failure. From multiple failures to millionaire. It’s pretty inspiring!