As an entrepreneur of ten years I've learned all too well what failure feels like. The perpetual wheel of reinventing myself has been the only constant in my life. Ups and downs, highs and lows; the roller coaster of perceived failure can be exhausting.
I deliberately use the word perceived. Isn't failure the exact purpose of life? We've all been bred to strive for success, attain perfection, sacrifice our dreams for obligation and "win", but we forget that failure is a necessary part of success.
I love this quote from Winston Churchill, "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." Brilliant. All too often we view success and failure as polar opposites, when in reality they're one in the same.
Success happens when we go outside our comfort zone, stretch ourselves beyond recognized limits and experience new people, places and things. Success happens outside "normal", and the only way to reach it is to walk though failure without losing your enthusiasm.
Success and failure are symbiotic-without one the other is not possible. So whatever your perceived failure is right now embrace it. Maybe you're experiencing failure for the first time, or maybe you're sitting by me in the roller coaster of ups and downs. No matter the number of failures in your tally box, know that each failure is simply a message that says, "Congratulations, you're living life!" Then take a deep breath and get ready to walk through your next failure knowing you've already achieved success.
Gina Soleil, is a speaker and acclaimed author of Fuel Your Business: How to energize people, ignite action and drive profit. She blogs and speaks about how to create a business where people are energized, feel good and are happy. Visit Gina Soleil at GinaSoleil.com and follow her on Twitter.