1. I never see failure as failure, but only as a learning experience. Every sale that doesn't go through is a learning experience for you; every challenge you have is also a learning experience. So learn from your failures. Thomas Edison, who conducted more than a thousand experiments on filaments before he produced a practical light bulb, was once asked, "How did you keep going after you had failed more than a thousand times?" Edison replied, "I did not fail a thousand times; I learned a thousand ways that didn't work." Like Edison, try to look at failure and rejection in a different light--as a learning experience.



2. I never see failure as failure, but only as the negative feedback I need to change course in my direction. Outside a restaurant with a lively bar, I once saw a gentleman who'd had too much to drink try to unlock his car with the wrong key. No matter how many times he tried, the wrong key still didn't work. After I'd talked him into taking a taxi home, it occurred to me that sometimes we all keep trying to make the wrong key unlock the door, keep using techniques that don't work in our selling endeavors, keep applying the wrong solution to the problem long after we've tried it and failed.

3. I never see failure as failure, but only as the opportunity to develop my sense of humor. Have you ever had a traumatic experience involving a sales presentation? Three weeks later, you finally tell someone about it and suddenly that same event is hilarious. But let me tell you this: The longer you wait to laugh, the more that failure will hold you back. Make a determined effort to laugh sooner by learning the trick of telling a good story on yourself.

4. I never see failure as failure, but only as an opportunity to practice my techniques and perfect my performance. Every time you present your service to others and they don't buy, at least they gave you a chance to practice your presentation and sales skills. Many people don't realize the importance of this. Learn to appreciate the opportunity to become better.

5. I never see failure as failure, but only as the game I must play to win. Selling is a game. Life is a game. Both have their rules. Luck plays a small part, but the winners play ball. Over the years, I've discovered that a single rule dominates every situation: Those who risk failure by working with more people make more money; those who risk less failure earn less.

If you risk failure, sometimes you'll fail. But every time you fail, you're that much closer to success. Success demands its percentage of failure.