Carl Willis

Failure Is Part of the Process

failure is part of the process

Luke 22 verses 31 and 32 is one of the most insightful passages in Scripture when it comes to the topic of . Jesus tells Peter, “Peter, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat and I have prayed that your faith would fail not. When you’ve returned, strengthen your brothers.

And when you step back and you look at that passage, you realize that what Jesus is telling Peter is “You’re going to fail and you’re going to fail miserably and once you’ve gotten over that, once you’ve dusted yourself off, once you’ve licked your wounds, come back and strengthen your brothers.” And of course we know right behind that conversation, Jesus tell Peter, “You’re going to deny me.”

And we know that after Jesus was crucified, Peter went back to go fishing. He was sulking in his sorrows but that once he got over that, once he found that restoration and that strength, he became a force to be reckoned with.

Now, the reason I bring that up today is is something that most people try to avoid at all costs. When it happens, we find ourselves embarrassed and humiliated and often times what we do is we don’t make another attempt, we just withdraw and we miss out on some of the greatest things that God has for us.

What I want to challenge you to do today is to change the way you look at and realize that is just simply part of the learning process. It’s part of the character formation process. From a business standpoint, it is where you figure out what works and what doesn’t work. I often tell people that approximately 20% of what I do in business is really what produces 80% of my results. That means that 80% of what I do isn’t what I want it to be. In fact, you might chalk it up as a .

Here’s the reality. When you find yourself failing, there’s really a couple of important things you want to look at. Number one, is your head and your feet pointed in the same direction? Are you pointed towards the goal? If you’re going to fall, fall forward. And here’s the second piece of that, get up quickly.

I have a mentor friend of mine who says it this way, “Fail forward fast and fail forward often.” So those two things will get you to your objective much quicker. They are the building blocks of your success. I often say that your greatest setback is generally the set up for your greatest comeback. And that’s the way you want to frame those issues in life.

So, just a few thoughts for you today. I hope you find encouragement in that and I look forward to talking with you again soon.