Find Success in Failure

Early on in my entrepreneurial career I learned an invaluable lesson about finding success in what could have been considered a complete business failure.

I had started a dock-construction company for yachts and secured a contract with a client and was working to complete it. However, we did not anticipate the client’s desire to use the boathouse before it was completed, but we agreed to let him. Unfortunately, a severe storm rolled in, collapsed the boathouse, and destroyed the yacht.

I remember sitting in the rain, staring at the mess in front of me, trying to figure out what to do. Instead of agonizing about what had happened, I decided to do everything I could to right the situation. I contacted the client, told him what happened, and took accountability for the unfortunate and devastating incident.

The client responded graciously and we worked together to right the situation in a way that satisfied him. I learned so much from this experience.

Instead of looking at the event outcome as an utter failure, I chose to assess it, be accountable, and learn from it. In doing so, I found success in the face of failure and chose to move forward, rather than letting it stop me.

How about you? What are some challenges—or “could-be” failures—that you have experienced? What did you learn? Please feel free to share in the comments section below.