What is failure? Typically, failing at a task or an assignment is viewed as bad or negative, but what if instead it was seen as taking one step closer to a solution or success? You see, that's exactly what failure is, yet it's the perspective people have on the events and circumstances that make us sad or uncomfortable that make us so often see life differently than it really is.

Failure is a perspective, not a fact. Thomas Edison tried hundreds of times to create the lightbulb before it was a success, and was asked by someone something along the lines of "You've failed so many times, when are you going to give up? " His response was that he has yet to fail, he has just found hundreds of ways in which the lightbulb cannot be created. That is the perspective needed to pursue any dream or desire. You must know that "failure" is really the path to success. "There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction.....Failure is another stepping stone to greatness" -Oprah

There was no great leader, inventor, or artist, who did not hit a few bumps in the road before reaching their goal. If hitting that bump brought them down to the point that they felt they had failed and could no longer go on, nothing great would exist! It's those who persevere through the times we so quickly tend to judge ourselves as failures, that end up crossing that finish line. If they sat in the self pity, limiting beliefs and judgments, their goals would have remained just a dream. They would have believed they had failed when in fact they were learning something that could help them find the way if they were open to it.

We have been conditioned to make negative judgements about ourselves or others when we don't feel as good as we had hoped or think we should. These are all a matter of perspective, for without the knowing of what does not work or feel good, we would be less inclined to know what does work, and have less drive to figure it out. Failure, contrast, and a positive perspective, are necessary components for success.