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.

Sarah Tate

After seemingly having my whole life plan figured out- having always wanted to go to law school, I had numerous life challenges during law school, including a divorce. After finally making it through those three years, I geared up to take the Bar Exam and failed it the first time. However, that failure was a blessing in disguise because I wouldn’t haven’t the career I currently have if I had passed the first time. Read more>>

Nickolas Hight

With the chaos and excitement of beginning the Start Up journey, you are bound to fail. Tons of times. But man, does it create the best of times and invaluable learning experiences. I have seen many, but not all failures. Some that I think worth while mentioning include: learning the hurdles of cash-flow management and debt cycling, inventory management, procurement, expansion, brand development, partnership, fulfillment, growth strategy. Since beginning No Rivals, I have used failures in each of these avenues to allow me to learn many lessons. As to not ramble, I will point to one particular incident where many of these issues presented themselves, and allowed me to learn many of lessons at once. Read more>>

Santina Wheat

Early on in my career, I applied for a job that I didn’t get. At the time, it felt like a horrible kick in the gut. I thought that I had to follow a specific path and be successful at every turn to truly be successful I thought that I was well qualified and thought it could help me on my journey. But, someone else was given the job and it was hard to see past that. I was frustrated and felt like a failure for a while. I applied for some additional experiences outside of my employer – and was able to gain some great experiences. Later, when I was able to look on this with some distance, it reminded me of an important life lesson. The path to success is not a straight one. Read more>>