Failure can diminish hope very quickly. It has a way of stripping people of all ambitions and can easily open the door to premature thoughts of giving up and quitting; but, great leaders know that failure can be turned into a beautiful thing. It is actually the best growth lesson that can quickly teach us what not to do. Henry Ford said, “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”

Not long ago, I was coaching a couple who were both seeking to advance their business. As we were discussing ideas and creating an action plan, they kept bringing up their past failures. Believing they had done everything wrong in the past and now needed to start over from scratch, they were discouraged. They viewed their failures as something that needed to be deleted from their memory and future and thought success was a failure free endeavor. I finally looked at them and said, “You keep talking about your failures, but I want you to know I don’t believe in failure.” They were a little taken aback by my words. I then said, “Every failure you have experienced is pointing you to what you should do better, not to what you should stay away from. Just because you failed at your attempt on the first try does not mean you jump ship and chart a new destination.” We then went on in the conversation to break down the lessons learned from each failure they experienced. We developed a new plan for their business by using their mistakes as stepping stones to their success. The couple is now doing great. and has even started a few new branches of their business, and it was all because of failure. It reminded me of what Charles Kettering, the famed inventor and head of research for GM, said, “A problem well-stated is half-solved.”

I have discovered that most people have the wrong perception of failure. They see it as something to be avoided rather than something to be leveraged. But the truth is, failure can get us one step closer to success. Robert Kennedy said, “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” My mentor, Dr. John C. Maxwell, taught me early on that if you aren’t making any mistakes, it’s a sure sign you’re playing it too safe. I realized that you have to risk big in order to receive big. Failure is an essential component of success. It is the learning process that takes you from average to great. We should never intentionally try to fail, but we must learn how to embrace the lessons failure teaches us.