Personal and Professional Success: How Failure Is Your Secret Weapon

Hey, guess what. You’re going to f-it up. We’re all gonna mess up real good.

So let’s figure out how to make that a win, m’kay?

Failure might seem like a setback, but it’s actually one of the most powerful tools for achieving Personal and Professional Success. In every stumble and misstep, there’s a hidden opportunity to learn, grow, and move closer to your goals.

what do we define as Personal and Professional Success?

We are whole people. Like: every bit of us is very real. So, when we talk about any level of success, it affects the whole picture.

Personal IS professional.

Professional IS personal. Make sense?

Now, if you’ve known me since my earliest days of nerdom in my 1980’s elementary school, then you’d know: I’m no stranger to failure. 

I barely made it through 4th grade long division or pre-calculus 9 years later. (I was told early on that math ain’t my jam).

I’ve been told by two different bosses that they didn’t know what to do with my talents.

I was perpetually single - and secretly sad about it - for most of my life.

And, yet, here I stand: a woman who has built a life and business she f-ing loves; one that has been meticulously carved out of rejection and failure. That’s right…some of my biggest wins have come from closed doors, failures to cross finish lines, and big, bold moves that came after I couldn’t get a win playing it the “safe” way.

I have made a game out of intentionally trading up from what I thought I wanted to that of which I am worthy, deserving and capable.

Failure is a big part of what got me to where I am today and - as one friend put it, recently - I’ve learned to welcome it as an old friend when it still shows up. And it SHOWS UP! 

Statistically speaking, failure is a big part of what will get all of us to the wins we want. 

Embracing Failure For Personal and Professional Success

See, failure is inevitable. We are all gonna mess things up. We have to, if we’re going to win - ultimately. In so many areas of life - from sports to funding to clinical trials to product launches - failure is a statistical prerequisite for personal and professional success. It’s science, baby! 

But, consider this: failure is what builds the rungs of the ladders upon which we dare to climb. 

When we fail, we build. We ascend and rise.

There’s some lessons I’ve learned along my complicated relationship with failure. Here’s 5 that I know will help you as you get cozy with downfalls. 

1. Be mindful of how you talk to yourself when you fail. The words we speak become the house we live in. 

I’ve said horrible things to myself when I’ve failed, and none of it has ever helped me earn any greater personal or professional success. I’ve learned to hear my inner hater as a useful messenger that gives me information I can later use to speak to myself with power and determination. 

2. Remember that your “failure” is someone else’s win - and vice versa. In other words, someone else is going to fail and that means a win for you. It’s just a matter of time before your opportunity strikes again. That may sound a bit tragic, but it’s truly just the nature of things. 

3. It’s not the chances you get, but the changes you make that are the greatest predictor of your personal and professional success. It’s science. Read more here. 

Be Vulnerable and Vocal While Embracing Failure

4. Speak up when you fail. Be vulnerable AND vocal. I know: it’s a challenge. Remember, though, closed mouths don’t get fed. No one can help you - not even yourself - if you don’t express what you need and allow yourself to be coached, nurtured and challenged. Confide in your most important people and allow them to lift you up. 

5. Fall into some goodness. Time and change are two major elements of success from failure. So, while you’re in that space of waiting and uprooting, surround yourself with nothing but good things: good people, emotions, physical spaces, sounds, scents and more. Treat yo’self when you fail. It’s critical for your next win. 

I break down how a 2020 “failure” turned into a major win for my business and set me up to do amazing things like launching The Executive Deck, in my kickoff remarks for the Women’s Venture Summit. 

Here’s that video 

Andrea Holland Coaching Speaking About Failure For Personal and Professional Success

Go get your next failure, my friend. Your professional and personal success deeply depends on it. K, bye! 

Did you know there’s an 80% chance you’ll fail to make lasting changes in your leadership, communication, or conflict management if you try to go it alone?
Why take those odds? Check out my coaching services and see if it’s a right fit for you. I’ve worked with leaders for 14 years to help them make the impact they want and need to make. What mark could I help you make? ♥