Thomas Edison once said “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”. What a great way for him to view his efforts which did not produce the results he was striving to achieve. If someone as triumphant as Thomas Edison can look at his attempts in this manner, I think we should all step back and rethink the way we view our perceived failures.

Rather than bemoaning the fact that our latest experiment, method, or effort did not end in the way we desired, we should take a note from Thomas Edison and learn from our failed effort. We now know what will not work so we are one step closer to what will work. There is now one more thing to cross off the list of possible means to our successful outcome. If a man such as Thomas Edison is willing to continue trying after 10,000 attempts who are we to give up so quickly? If he had given up after several failures at finding the correct materials to use when designing a light bulb, how many additional years would it have taken to develop a functioning bulb? How could this have possibly set back society’s advancement and would humans be where we are today without Thomas Edison’s determination to be successful?

Thomas found success in spite of his many failed attempts by not viewing his efforts as failures but as successes. Each attempt was a success at eliminating what did not work so he could continue to search for what would work. By taking a positive viewpoint of his efforts, he achieved success, a definite positive.

So the next time you are close to giving up on your project, remember Thomas Edison and his determination to be successful even after 10,000 attempts. Taking a positive approach to any failures will get you one step closer to success by disposing of one more thing which will not work. Success is now closer than ever, so look to the positive and keep trying!