Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter

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Here are 2 insights, 2 quotes, and 2 challenges to consider this week...

2 Insights From Me

"I failed 47 times before I got a 'yes.'

Forty-seven job applications. Forty-seven rejections. Each one felt like confirmation that I wasn't good enough.

But here's what those 47 failures taught me: Fear of failure is actually fear of feedback.

Every rejection told me something:

Application #12 taught me to customize my resume for each role
Application #23 showed me I was applying too broadly
Application #31 revealed I needed to reframe my career transition story
Application #39 proved I could handle rejection without falling apart

By application #48, I wasn't the same person who sent application #1.

I didn't fail 47 times. I learned 47 lessons. And lesson #48 became my next job.

Failure isn't the opposite of success. It's the price of admission."

II.

"The fear of failure kept me from applying to 'reach' positions for the first three weeks.

I told myself: 'They'll never hire someone in my situation. I'm not qualified enough. Why waste their time and mine?'

Then Florena said something that changed my approach: 'What if the worst thing that happens is they say no? That's already your current reality.'

She was right. I was already unemployed. The 'no' couldn't make my situation worse. It could only give me information or surprise me with a 'yes.'

So I started applying to positions I thought I had no chance at. And guess what? Some said yes.

The jobs I got weren't the 'safe' ones I thought I was qualified for. They were the reach positions I almost didn't apply to because of fear.

Fear of failure is often fear of a future that's no worse than your present."

2 Quotes

"I've missed more than 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." - Michael Jordan

II.

"For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes." - Proverbs 24:16 (NIV)

2 Challenges

Challenge 1: The Failure Audit

Write down three significant "failures" from your past.

For each one, answer:

What did this teach me?
How did it make me stronger?
What opportunity came BECAUSE of this failure?

Most of your growth came through failure, not success. See it clearly.

Challenge 2: The Reach Goal

This week, do ONE thing you've been avoiding because you're afraid of failing.

Apply for the reach position. Start the project you think you're not ready for. Have the conversation you've been putting off. Ask for the opportunity you think you won't get.

The goal isn't to succeed. The goal is to prove you can handle the "no" and keep moving.

Remember: Feed your mind. Fuel your actions. Find your fire. 🔥

Want more frameworks like this? My book Mindset Metamorphosis includes the complete framework for reframing failure as feedback and building resilience through setbacks.