“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” — Henry Ford

Sara Blakely, the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire and founder of Spanx, a multi-million dollar undergarment company, admitted: “My dad encouraged us to fail.  Growing up, he would ask us what we failed at that week.  If we didn’t have something, he would be disappointed.  It changed my mindset at an early age that failure is not the outcome, failure is not trying.”

Basketball legend, Michael Jordan, observed: “I’ve missed over 9,000 shots in my career.  I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot…and missed.  I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life.  And that is why I succeed.”

The Bottom Line: Leaders embrace failure, realizing it can be the doorway to a new start, growth and ultimately success.