Lately we have been seeing a lot of changes in the world around us. Most of the changes that we have been experiencing are completely unexpected. Some of the unexpected changes has left many people jobless.

The unexpected changes that are occurring today are leaving a lot of people feeling like they have “failed.” Are you really a failure? In Batman Begins Thomas Wayne tells young Bruce Wayne, “Why do we fall? To learn to pick ourselves up.” I think that falling down is a necessary evil to get to success. Walt Disney had many “failures” or set-backs before he was successful and became a household name. Hank Aaron struck-out may times on his way to breaking the Babe’s record. Apple had set-backs before iPod, iMac, OS X and its current success. Do we find the perfect career path without set-backs or even firings/layoffs?

We need to change the definition of “failure.” When we fall down or find ourselves in a valley, that does not mean that we are to loose hope. When silver is being refined the temperature is raised at every step during the process until the refiner can see his reflection like a mirror. Can we learn to embrace “failures” and see them as necessary steps in the process towards success? Napoleon Hill once said: “Failure seems to be nature’s plan for preparing us for great responsibilities.”

“Failure is good. It's fertilizer. Everything I've learned about coaching, I've learned from making mistakes.” -- Rick Patino