failures and why they are so important

Hi, I’m Adrian Fleming and as a serial entrepreneur, strategic cross-media marketing expert and the author of…

I know, from first hand experience that…

…the most important thing you can do first is…

failmaybe even fail a few times

I know this sounds crazy - nobody wants to fail.

but it’s true

Let’s talk about people who’ve have failed in the past because we will actually learn more from that than their successes in most cases.

H.J.Heinz !Bankrupt

Milton Hershey !Bankrupt - twice

Walt Disney !Fired too as he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas”

Robert Kiyosaki !Lost his company Nylon and Velcro Wallet Company through incompetence

Oprah Winfrey !Fired from her first TV job

Steven Spielberg !Rejected by Uni Southern California School of Cinematic Arts

Albert Einstein !Struggled to learn and had difficulty communicating with others

Fred Astaire !“Can’t sing. Can’t act”

J.K.Rowling !Living on benefits when she first wrote Harry Potter Publishers turned her down too

Sir Phillip Green !Had 4 business failures before he made his first million

Vincent Van Gogh !Only sold one painting while alive

Harrison Ford !Told he’d never make it as an actor

Sir James Dyson !Went through thousands of failed prototypes and 15 years of savings

Stephen King !Threw away novel “Carrie” - didn’t think it was good enough after 30 rejections His wife got him to keep trying

Donald Trump !Almost failed twice – he needed the banks to bail him twice

Sir Richard Branson !Arrested for contents of his student magazine Was in trouble for tax Had to sell Virgin records to keep Virgin Atlantic Alive

Soichiro Honda !Turned down for a job at Toyota

Elvis !“You ain’t goin’ anywhere, son.”

Babe Ruth !Not only successful with 714 home runs Also the record holder for most strikeouts too at 1,330

Seth Godin !Has started in his own words - “…more than a dozen companies, most of which have failed.”

I too have had a few failures over the years and one thing I can say is that each and every time…

…I’ve learned from them and aim never to make the same mistake again.

One thing I’ve also learned is to spot when things are going wrong and making changes…

…sometimes radical, to minimise losses, turn things around or get out with a profit even if…

…others involved don’t want to take the required action fast.

In fact two businesses where I’ve been involved, in the last couple of years, that I was a part of, not in full control of, made me money and…

…within 6 months of my departure went out of business.

One was VC funded, the other privately funded…

…but both were great ideas and could have been fantastic businesses…

…so my skills have definitely improved in this area as a direct result of previous failures and my experiences.

You see success is down to adding value to the market…

…and for this you need the skills and ability to deliver that value.

Skills come from successes but also from failures too, so don’t be afraid of mistakes, criticism or failures…

…just use them to your advantage like I, and all those people I’ve just mentioned and more have, to turn a profit in the end.