Over the years, after talking with tens of thousands of entrepreneurs, artists and creatives, almost every success story we’ve heard has been filled with stories of failure. Unfortunately, in our view the media rarely covers these parts of the story – instead we often read summaries that make it seem like success happened “overnight.” However, what we’ve learned in our conversations with so many successful folks is that failure is core ingredient in the recipe for future success. Below, we’ve shared some fascinating stories of failure from folks who have ultimately found great success.

Candace Holyfield Parker

Losing a million dollars due to burnout. I failed big time. I had a huge paypall monthly. So many people depended on me daily. I drowned my self in work and helping people. It finally all came crashing down. Once I built a successful brand I thought it was my duty to care of everyone. I did that for years but forgot to take care of myself. I woke up one day and said F everything. I cried and cried. Read more>>

Paulina Bylard

This year (2023) has been the most challenging, and most of my internal battles had to do with feeling like a failure. I lost my job towards the end of the summer and I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders because I had to start having difficult conversations with my husband about money. Thankfully, things have been okay, but the pressure remains for myself because I have been stuck in a rut trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. Read more>>

Brandon Rembert

I remember when I first started working with my current organization that I’m with. There were a lot of new programs that I was unfamiliar with, specifically this software that we used for a lot of our video cutting and housing. I was thankful to have co-workers that guided me through the process early on, but I eventually got to the point where I wanted to be able to navigate the program on my own and not have to ask others for help. Read more>>

Maria Alonso

In 2022 I was focusing on doing makeup for quinceañeras, the moms the aunts etc… through out the year business started to slow down for me. When this happened it took a toll on me because it was something I truly enjoyed doing. 2022 was a challenging year not only in my professional life but also in my personal life. Read more>>

Trish Rainone

Growing up in small town Ontario, Canada, most of my peers either played hockey, danced or did gymnastics. I became a competitive dancer as a child and loved performing. While I could dance in front of large crowds, I had a huge fear of speaking in front of people, and public speaking especially gave me anxiety. At ten I was exempt from public speaking in school because no words would come out of my mouth whenever I would attempt to present in front of the class. No matter how prepared I was. Read more>>