Many great people have done amazing things after failing a couple of times. As they say, you can’t spell “million” without a couple of L’s, meaning you can never get to that really amazing place or that big win you’ve wanted your whole life without failing. Today, April Shprintz reminds us that whatever our goal is, there are going to be some losses along the way. What’s going to determine your ultimate success is how you handle those L’s.
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Email: april@drivenoutcomes.com
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You Can’t Spell MILLION Without A Couple “L’s”
I am so glad you’re here. I heard the absolute best quote. It was, “You can’t spell million without a couple of Ls,” meaning you can never get to that great and amazing place or that big win that you’ve wanted your whole life without failing a couple of times. What a great way to put that into perspective. It happens to each and every one of us but as we’re in it, sometimes people can worry that the fact that they have taken a couple of Ls can mean that they’re not going to get to where they’re supposed to be.
What I want you to think about is how many great people who have done amazing things have been through that exact thing that you’re going through or that feeling of, “I can’t believe I failed in this big way. This must not be for me. I may not be going there. I may not be meant for this.” The opposite is probably true because if you get to this place, you’re in this failure, and you use it the right way as fuel, as something to motivate you, or as something to push through and become better, you’re more likely to succeed in most cases.
If you're in a place of failure but use it right away as fuel, as something to motivate you, as something to push through and become better, you're more likely to succeed in most cases. Share on XIf you don’t believe me, I’ll give you a couple of examples that you might have forgotten about. Number one is Michael Jordan. Who could forget that Michael Jordan did not make his high school varsity basketball team? Can you imagine? Michael Jordan failed. He didn’t make that team but look what it did for him. Look at the work ethic and the reps he decided to get under his belt so that would never happen to him again and how it fueled him to be a bigger success and to double down on his commitment to the game. That’s something that you and I can do anytime we encounter this.
Handling Losses: Many great people who’ve done amazing things have been through the exact thing that you’re going through.
Another example is Vera Wang. If you’re not huge into fashion, you might barely know her name, or you might not know it but she is one of the most famous wedding dress designers. She had two failures in her background. She started ice skating when she was very young and failed to make the 1968 Olympic skating team in ice skating but then went on to become a fashion assistant at Vogue and was promoted very quickly because she was incredible at what she did. Even after putting in fifteen amazing years at Vogue, she got passed over for the editor-in-chief position.
If you can imagine working for a decade and a half toward your dream job and then getting passed over for it, that’s going to be a gut-check moment. That’s going to seem like, “Where am I going? I may not be who I thought I was. I may not be meant for this,” but the way that you get through that moment determines all of the success that you’re going to have in the future. Candidly, it probably makes it more likely. Out of our failures, our successes are built.
Handling Losses: There’s going to be a gut-check moment that’s going to seem like you’re not going anywhere or make you think you’re not who you thought you were or meant for what it is you’re doing. But the way that you get through that moment determines all of the success that you’re going to have.
I don’t say that based on other people. That is 100% my experience in my life as well. If you haven’t heard the story from me before, I wanted to be a broadcaster in the Air Force. I failed in the most epic way. My first broadcasting audition failed. I got a big fail on that audition and some nasty feedback on my voice. There were some technical problems that caused that which I was able to fix when I finally worked up the gumption to do another audition, which took me months but I didn’t know that then. The way that I reacted to that is by taking that big L and what that meant about me, my life, and my future.
I’m not saying that I didn’t have a pity party for myself. I’m not saying that Vera and Michael didn’t either but after that, what do you do? How do you pursue it? I went out there, tried again, and became one of the youngest people to ever anchor Air Force television news to an audience of 75 million. The story though isn’t that. The story is what that L did for me, that big loss there.
Handling Losses: After a failure, what do you do? Do you continue pursuing what you want, and how are you doing it?
When I got out of the service, I had a hard time getting hired. It was very difficult for me to convey to people that the skills that I developed in the military while in television and broadcasting could be translated into business. I had countless companies ignore my resume. I went on almost twenty interviews at different companies that were not interested in hiring me. I was taking Ls right and left.
When I finally set my sights on being hired by the company I was doing temporary work at, they told me no three times before they hired me but having taken that big L in the Air Force, I knew that sometimes it’s tenacity, “How do I find another way to get to my dream?” That’s what I want you to take away from this. Nobody gets to a million without a couple of Ls. That resonates with me because I made my first million when I was still in the corporate world. I wouldn’t have gotten there if I hadn’t taken those other losses in other areas.
Whether your dream is to make millions of dollars, an amazing impact, or both, do something in the arts, or be an amazing parent, whatever your goal is, there are going to be some losses on the way there but what’s going to determine your ultimate success and how amazing I know you’re able to be is going to be how you handle those Ls. How do you come out of that? What do you do next? I believe what you’re going to do is going to be spectacular. Here’s to your success.
