“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 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.” – Michael Jordan

Print available on Society6.

Excuse me while I geek out a bit. I am and have always been a fan of sports and greatness. Every so often, those two mix in perfect harmony and give you a player that transcends sports. Someone who is well known beyond his chosen craft. Someone synonymous with greatness. One of those people is Michael Jordan.

Jordan is widely considered the greatest player to ever play the game of basketball. It is not often that you have near unanimous agreement about a sports player. It’s hard to compare players in different time periods. The games and styles of play are completely different. But when it comes to Michael Jordan, there are very few arguments.

There’s a reason why. In sports, most players never even reach a championship. Jordan won six. Only the best of the best win an MVP. Jordan won five. Jordan has won the scoring title in a season ten times, more than anyone who has ever played basketball. He won two Olympic gold medals for the USA. The most impressive thing might be that he did all of this while retiring three times. Two of which were temporary.

The reason I bring this up is, without failure, none of that success would have been possible. Like his quote says, Michael Jordan failed a lot. He missed over 9,000 shots. He lost 300 games and missed the game winning shot 26 times.

Failure is just part of the game. Even one of the greatest basketball players of all time faced failure. Failure, however, isn’t the goal. It’s what you do after failure that really matters.

Will you let failure keep you down or will you rise above it? Will you learn from your mistakes or let your mistakes keep you down forever?

These are the questions you must ask yourself if you ever want to be great. Failure is one of life’s greatest teachers. Every mistake you make is a lesson learned. They reveal life’s pitfalls and lead you on the path towards success.

Buy Michael Jordan Quote Art

Photos by RyanMcGuire and Unsplash