Failure is a Message from the Universe

I’m actually a graduate from University of British Columbia in Vancouver and it was a major bit of pride for my family as it is ranked one of the top schools in Canada (although looking back it was pretty useless to my life and career overall). But I didn’t get in the first time. I was a lackluster student in high school and only did well in classes that interested me or where I liked the teachers.

Plus I skipped a lot of school because I didn’t enjoy it. Period. I read my own books and educated myself. I learned hacks and shortcuts. I ended up with like a 3.1 GPA which was below the curve, so I didn’t get in for the first year of University. It was highly disappointing and my parents were far from happy. It was a huge shock to me personally, when I had gotten away with so much previously. I ended up doing classes at local Kwantlen college with my other slacker friends.

But this was a crucible moment. As Tony Robbins said: “When people succeed, they party. When people fail, they ponder.”

It was a wake up call and forced me to get my act together. I learned what I did before was not good enough. I took school more seriously and led to a ferocious work ethic. Frightening, almost. No surprise it was easy to get into UBC in the next round. This moment set me on my path and approach to life. The use of overwhelming force.

I’d always try to learn and over prepare. Whenever I met an obstacle I’d grind through it and overcome it with intense effort and work. Doing this sets you ahead of most people who just quit when it gets hard.

I never quit. It doesn’t mean you don’t try to find smart ways to sort an issue. I might rest and prepare. But in the long run, I’ll never quit for important and strategic things in my life and business. It’s served me well so far. I’ve seen this trait also in all the most successful people I know.

So the lesson here is when something doesn’t go your way. When you fail and you will fail, what lesson do you take out of it? Do you adjust your approach? And do you get back up? Do you keep going? That is all that matters if you want to succeed in the end.