Everyone in this world desires to have the best for themselves. Therefore, success and happiness are always the ultimate goals for each person. However, most people fear failure and try to avoid it, but only a few truly understand that it is the ‘key’ that unlocks the door to a brighter future.
In history, there have been many individuals who have proven this, such as the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, who experienced 8 failed election campaigns, or the German genius physicist Albert Einstein, who failed numerous exams and even got expelled from school. The first inventor of the electric incandescent light bulb, Thomas Edison, also had to endure 1,000 failed attempts
Photo: Mr. Thomas Edison conducting experiments to invent the electric incandescent light bulb
In addition, the renowned composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart also struggled financially as his works were not recognized. Similarly, the famous author of the Harry Potter novels, J.K. Rowling, faced rejection from 12 publishers when her book was first released. Or Mr. Harland Sanders, the founder of KFC, who received 1,009 rejections when he started his business at the age of 65. And many other famous people have also tasted bitter failure numerous times before achieving their goals.
Instead of blaming, criticizing, and giving up, those who fail with a positive mindset go against that. So what have they done to overcome the fear of failure and regain success?
1. Embracing failure and being willing to learn to improve oneself
Reality shows that no one has ever succeeded without experiencing failure or sacrificing something to achieve happiness. Especially, positive people understand that failure is an essential part and they see it as a natural occurrence in life. A renowned philosopher and politician during the Three Kingdoms era, Mr. Dian Wei once asserted that “Failure is a good thing. It can teach us how to succeed. Those who aspire to great achievements must learn to let go. The same goes for battle. Accepting victory is as important as accepting defeat”.
Therefore, accepting failure is not something to be afraid of. What’s most important is that we will learn from our failures to correct mistakes, and adjust our thinking and lifestyle to improve ourselves. This experience not only helps us find better opportunities but also strengthens our resilience when facing major ‘storms’.
2. Discovering the Motivation to Persist in Pursuing Dreams and Actively Engage in Beneficial Work
One of the distinguishing factors that contribute to the strength of positive individuals in persevering through failures is their refusal to give up or succumb to fate. They always seek ways to boost their inner energy and motivation through good deeds, volunteering, or implanting optimistic thoughts and reminders such as “I can do it, I will do better”. By focusing on attractive reasons to stimulate their determination, they continue to strive toward the future
Oprah Winfrey is an exemplary figure, widely known as “the Queen of Television” due to her diverse roles as an actress, television producer, and author. She is also the first African-American woman to make it onto the global billionaires list. With each appearance, she captivates millions of viewers and has become an influential figure, inspiring resilience and the power of storytelling through her real-life experiences shared in the media.
Photo: A program by Oprah Winfrey
She was born into a poor family on January 29th, 1954, in Kosciusko, Mississippi, USA. It is known that her parents were not yet of legal age to marry, so she was considered an illegitimate child and not acknowledged. Due to the difficult circumstances, Vernita Lee (Oprah’s biological mother) moved away to live elsewhere and left the young baby girl with her grandmother to raise. At the time, the family was so impoverished that some of the clothes she wore were made from used potato sacks.
Photo: Oprah Winfrey as a child
At the age of six, Oprah moved in with her mother in Milwaukee. While there, she often faced ridicule and discrimination for her dark skin and facial features. Moreover, she endured physical abuse for five long years (from 9 to 14 years old) by several individuals, resulting in her becoming pregnant. Despite the pain and shame, she was determined to keep the baby, but unfortunately, her son passed away after only two weeks by her side. The burden of pain continued to weigh heavily on the 14-year-old girl, with an uncertain future ahead of her. Since then, Oprah Winfrey became increasingly rebellious and disruptive, causing her mother to become exhausted and decide to send her to live with her biological father in Nashville, Tennessee.
After understanding the pain that her daughter had to go through, Vernon Winfrey encouraged her mother to read books to heal the wound and also motivated her daughter to continue her education. It was then that she realized that the reason she was drawn to pursue education was to escape poverty, not to endure the oppression of others, and to be recognized by society as a person of color like herself.
Photo. Oprah Winfrey is seriously pursuing her education.
Due to finding motivation, strong willpower, and persevering through pain, she was able to rise by living optimistically, and positively, and helping those around her. With relentless effort, she achieved a full scholarship in Communication Studies at the University of Tennessee and was crowned Miss Fire Prevention at the age of 17 in the beauty pageant competition for women of color.
Photo. Oprah Winfrey was presented with the Miss Fire Prevention award by the organizers of the competition
Furthermore, she was honored as the first black woman and youngest news anchor at WTVF-TV Nashville when she was only 19 years old. Over the years, she has received numerous prestigious awards in the media industry. Afterward, she established her television and founded two charitable organizations, namely Oprah’s Angel Network and A Better Chance, to aid those in need.
3. Eliminate negativity and always believe that effort will be rewarded in due time
Through the story of Oprah Winfrey, we can understand to some extent the value of willpower and a positive optimistic attitude, which have built the belief that helped her become the legendary and outstanding figure she is today.
Photo. She became a legendary figure by overcoming failures and hardships
In other words, a person with a positive mindset will never allow negative thoughts such as insecurity, inferiority, fear, boredom, complacency, blame, or self-doubt to mix in, even in the face of failure. They also won’t believe that someone else’s success is entirely due to luck.
Contrary to that way of thinking, positive people often believe in themselves, they see failures as valuable lessons and set clear goals to achieve, always finding optimism everywhere. On the other hand, they focus deeply on developing personal skills to enhance their overall quality. At the same time, they respect and appreciate the achievements of others because they believe that those results must go through a long and arduous journey to attain. In particular, they enhance the value of spiritual life every day to multiply love from within. Because they understand that only by getting rid of negative thoughts can positive energy be obtained.
Vietnamese proverb goes “Practice makes perfect”, which advises those facing difficulties or setbacks not to lose heart or give up hastily, but to persevere and work even harder. The underlying message is that time will eventually reward those who have put in the effort. In an interview, Oprah Winfrey also emphasized that “failure is a great teacher and, if you are open to it, every mistake has a lesson to offer”.
By TVVN Press
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What a nice story! That’s great