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.

Rebecca Clark

I’ve worked since I was very young. Before I was a teenager, I delivered newspapers, mowed lawns for neighbors, shoveled snow, and got booked in advance to babysit for neighbors, family friends, and my father’s co-workers. Read more>>

Rebecca Pearce

In 2011, I was appointed by the then-Governor of Maryland to be the CEO of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange. When I was appointed, we had just over 2 years to implement the biggest change in the individual and small group insurance markets in decades (Obamacare) — with only the initial legislation passed, no staff beyond me, no office location, and no IT system yet on board. I took the job anyway. Read more>>

Jennifer Toole

I do. I had scored an exciting, high-profile gig shooting the still advertisement photos for a new reality television show. Four L.A. women in their fifties were the stars of the show and they all had a similar look ie. same tan, same blonde hair colour, same nose job, same boob job, same face-lift etc. Read more>>

Shya Prescott

Very recently, I applied to be a Hall Director of a residence building on my college campus. A hall director is a student that supervises a group of resident assistants along with an entire building of students that reside in that building. Read more>>

Sarah Akiba

My most significant setback in life occurred with the loss of my father. I hesitate to label it as a failure; rather, it stands as a transformative experience—an unexpected twist in the narrative, akin to turning sour lemons into sweet lemonade. Read more>>

Adreyauna Lewers

Owning and running a business is to be accepting of failures. At least that’s what I tell myself when I think about the time I hired a marketing consultant and didn’t follow the plan she custom designed for me! Read more>>

Christopher Weedon

Since childhood, my aspiration had been to create the perfect family—a union of two loving parents raising a family, imparting essential values like self-awareness, kindness, love, and integrity. Read more>>

Margaret Phiri

One notable instance of failure in my professional journey occurred with my first assistant. She was a young newcomer to the workforce, and this marked her first job. I mistakenly assumed that individuals would naturally take the initiative and be self-starters. Read more>>