The Carpenter: A Story About the Greatest Success Strategies of All

Chapter 25The Gift of Failure

“But I’m failing,” Michael said frantically. “I don’t feel like I’m building anything. I feel like things are crumbling around me.”

“We all fail,” the carpenter said. “It’s what we do after we fail that determines what we build in the long run. Some of the most successful people throughout history have experienced great failures, but they turned their great failures into great success. Most people don’t know that Walt Disney was once fired from a newspaper for a lack of ideas, and his first cartoon production company went bankrupt. Everyone loves Lucy but Lucille Ball was told that she had no talent and should leave Murray Anderson’s drama school. What would have happened if Dr. Seuss actually burned the manuscript of his first book, which he wanted to do after it was rejected by 27 publishers? And it’s easy to forget that Steve Jobs was fired from Apple at 30 years old, and that Oprah Winfrey was fired as a news anchor and told she wasn’t fit for television.”

“I didn’t know any of that,” said Michael.

“Yes, it’s true, and there are countless success stories just like theirs. I have worked in the homes of many successful people and have seen firsthand that everyone fails in life, but failure can be a gift if you don’t give up and are willing to learn, improve, and grow because of it. You see, failure often serves as a defining moment, a crossroads on the journey of your life. It gives you a test designed to measure your courage, perseverance, commitment, ...