Dealing with Failure: Advice from Those Who’ve Been There
Failure is an inevitable part of any journey to success. This article presents valuable insights from experienced professionals who have faced and overcome setbacks. Their practical advice offers a fresh perspective on turning failures into opportunities for growth and achievement.
- Patience with Failure Leads to Growth
- Embrace Setbacks as Steps to Success
- Learn from Mistakes in Roofing Business
- Treat Failures Like Blown Electrical Fuses
- Develop Focused Solutions Instead of Universal Ones
- View Failure as Feedback Not Defeat
- Move Forward Quickly After Setbacks
- Set Clear Goals to Avoid Aimless Progress
Patience with Failure Leads to Growth
I would tell my younger self to stop trying to rescue every mistake the moment it happens. Failure teaches more when you sit with it for a while instead of rushing to patch it. If I had spent less time chasing quick fixes and more time listening to why things went sideways, I would have avoided repeating the same issue more than once. That kind of patience is hard to practice when you are still trying to prove yourself. It only clicks once you learn that silence can fix what noise cannot.
John Washer
Owner, Cabinets Plus
Embrace Setbacks as Steps to Success
As the owner and coach at Judo Club Challenge, I often reflect on my own journey in martial arts and the lessons that come along the way. If I could offer my younger self one crucial piece of advice about dealing with failure, it would be this: “Embrace failure as a necessary step on the road to growth.”
When I first started practicing judo, I faced numerous setbacks—failed competitions, disheartening losses, and moments of self-doubt that can shake anyone’s confidence. I remember the frustration, but with maturity, I’ve come to appreciate that those very failures were invaluable lessons. Each time I fell short, I learned resilience and how to adapt my strategies. This ability to turn failure into a stepping stone is something I actively encourage at our club.
At Judo Club Challenge, we emphasize that every athlete will face challenges as part of their growth journey. Just as in judo, where a throw may not land perfectly the first time, or a submission may not work against a skilled opponent, it’s essential to analyze the situation and adjust accordingly. This cycle of learning is not just applicable in judo; it transcends into their academic pursuits and future careers.
By nurturing this perspective in our young athletes, we equip them with the mindset to tackle future setbacks head-on, whether they are competing on the mat or navigating the complexities of life outside of sports. We strive to develop well-rounded individuals who display the leadership qualities and confidence needed to succeed not just in competitions but in life—a mission I wish my younger self would have fully grasped sooner.
In all honesty, seeing our athletes rise above their failures to achieve success in judo, and in diverse fields like IT and law, reaffirms my belief in this philosophy. The reality is simple—failure can be our greatest teacher if we let it be.
Alim Sheykhislyamov
Owner, Judo Coach, Challenge Sports Club Inc. (aka Judo club Challenge)
Learn from Mistakes in Roofing Business
If I could give my younger self one piece of advice about dealing with failure, it would be this: don’t let it break you, let it teach you. In roofing, mistakes and setbacks are part of the job, whether it’s underestimating how a storm will delay a project, misjudging the amount of material needed, or dealing with a repair that doesn’t hold the first time. Early on, I used to take failure as a sign that maybe I wasn’t cut out for this line of work. What I’ve learned over the years is that failure is where the real growth happens.
One specific moment sticks with me. Years ago, I took on a roofing job where I didn’t plan out the manpower correctly. We ended up running behind schedule, the client was frustrated, and I carried that failure like a weight. At the time, I thought it was a disaster. Looking back, it forced me to build better systems—planning crews with precision, setting realistic timelines, and communicating clearly with homeowners so expectations matched reality. That one failure shaped the way I run projects today.
If I had understood then that setbacks weren’t the end, but the push I needed to improve, I would have handled the stress differently. Instead of beating myself up, I could have focused faster on fixing the issue and learning from it. Roofing doesn’t forgive shortcuts, and failure is usually the result of something overlooked. Once you face that head-on, you stop running from mistakes and start using them as fuel.
The advice to my younger self would have been simple: “You’re going to fail, but that’s part of becoming better. Don’t waste energy dwelling on it—take the lesson and move forward stronger.” That mindset would have saved me time, stress, and doubt. Today, I see every setback as part of the process that built Achilles Roofing and Exterior into the company it is. Without those failures, I wouldn’t have the discipline, systems, and resilience that keep us delivering the level of work our clients trust us with now.
Ahmad Faiz
Owner, Achilles Roofing and Exteriors
Treat Failures Like Blown Electrical Fuses
If I could give my younger self one piece of advice about dealing with failure, it would be this: treat it like a blown fuse—find the cause, fix it, and move forward without dwelling on it.
When I first started out as an electrician, every mistake felt like the end of the world. A missed deadline, a miscalculated job quote, or a wiring error would stick with me for days. I’d replay it in my head, wondering what I could have done differently, and in the process, I’d lose focus on the jobs ahead. Over time, I learned that failure isn’t the problem—it’s how long you let it hold you back that matters.
In electrical work, if a circuit trips, you don’t waste hours staring at it. You troubleshoot systematically—check the connections, test the load, replace what’s faulty, and get it running again. That same mindset applies to business and life. A setback is just a signal that something in the process needs adjusting, not a sign you’re not capable.
If I’d understood that earlier, I would have recovered faster from the mistakes I made in my early years. I would have seen each failure as part of the apprenticeship of running a business, not as a permanent mark on my ability. It also would have helped me make decisions with more confidence instead of second-guessing myself because of past errors.
Failures are only wasted if you don’t learn from them. The quicker you analyze what went wrong, take responsibility, and put the fix in place, the sooner you get back on track. For me, that mindset shift was a turning point—not just in my trade, but in building Lightspeed Electricals into what it is today.
Alex Schepis
Electrician / CEO, Lightspeed Electrical
Develop Focused Solutions Instead of Universal Ones
“Focus on solving specific problems exceptionally well, rather than trying to solve everything at once.”
Early in my career at DataNumen, I made the classic mistake of pursuing a “silver bullet” solution—attempting to develop a universal data recovery software that could repair all file formats. As the project progressed, I watched the software become increasingly complex while its effectiveness for any specific file format actually diminished.
This failure taught me a crucial lesson: the pursuit of universal solutions often leads to mediocre results across the board. When you try to solve everything, you typically end up solving nothing particularly well.
This advice would have saved me months of development time and resources in those early days. Instead of chasing the impossible dream of a one-size-fits-all solution, I would have immediately focused on developing specialized data recovery tools for specific file formats—which is exactly what we pivoted to do.
The result? Our format-specific recovery software achieved significantly better recovery rates and became the foundation of DataNumen’s success. Each tool was laser-focused on the unique characteristics and corruption patterns of individual file types, making them far more effective.
The takeaway for any tech leader: Failure isn’t something to fear—it’s data. Extract the lessons, adjust your approach, and use those insights to build something better. Sometimes the most valuable thing failure teaches you is what not to pursue, clearing the path for more focused, effective solutions.
This principle now guides all our product development decisions at DataNumen, helping us maintain our reputation for industry-leading data recovery solutions.
Robert Chen
VP & CIO, DataNumen
View Failure as Feedback Not Defeat
I would tell my younger self that failure isn’t proof you’re not good enough—it’s feedback pointing you toward growth. For so long, I saw setbacks as personal flaws, which only kept me stuck in shame and second-guessing. If I had understood earlier that failure is part of the process, I would have moved through challenges with more resilience and less self-doubt. That perspective would have helped me see each stumble as data, not defeat—an opportunity to refine my approach rather than question my worth. It’s a shift that turns failure from something to fear into something you can actually use.
Karen Canham
Entrepreneur/Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, Karen Ann Wellness
Move Forward Quickly After Setbacks
I would remind my younger self that failure is rarely permanent, but the hesitation it creates can be. Early on, I treated missteps as proof that I was not ready, which delayed new opportunities more than the failure itself. If I had instead focused on documenting what went wrong and moving forward quickly, I would have built momentum faster. In practice, this advice would have helped me recognize that a failed client pitch or underperforming campaign was simply feedback, not a verdict. That shift in mindset makes it easier to test again, refine the approach, and keep doors open that hesitation might otherwise close.
Wayne Lowry
Marketing Coordinator, Local SEO Boost
Set Clear Goals to Avoid Aimless Progress
Failure is not the biggest risk and can actually be a good sign of trying. The biggest risk is staying in motion without a set goal in mind. If you progress blindly, you will have no control over where you end up, and you will become resentful.
Jeremy Golan SHRM-CP, CPHR, Bachelor of Management
HR Manager, Virtual HR Hub
