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Success And Failure: Success Is The Gateway To Success

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(MoneyWatch) COMMENTARY It's definitely counterintuitive and maybe a bit ironic, but when you meet an experienced, successful executive who seems to have all the confidence in the world, chances are he's experienced the most humiliating defeat you can ever imagine.

That's because failure is the gateway to success. Here's how it works.

When you're young and new to the workforce, you revel in the gifts God gave you or the DNA you were fortunate enough to acquire that sets you apart. Maybe you're a genius, a talented designer, a natural with software, or have the gift of gab.

But an interesting thing happens as you progress through your career. You learn that everything isn't about you and your talents. That there's a huge business world with rules you don't understand. That there are lots of gifted people out there, most of whom see things very differently than you. That there's an incredible amount of competition for jobs, for customers, for business, for everything. …show more content…
So many unpleasant firsts. Like your first few job rejection letter. Your first less than stellar performance review. The first time you bomb in a presentation. The first time your proposal gets shot down or you lose a big account. And the first time you get passed over for a promotion.

Then you come across managers and executives that possess a unique quality you've never seen before. A way about them, a sort of worldly wisdom and confidence that only comes from experience. It comes from facing tough competition and winning big. It also comes from fighting the good fight and going down to defeat.

Perhaps that's the biggest surprise of all. That there are so many ways to fail and nobody can escape

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