I recently saw a post that reminded me failure is not an indicator of future success.

Take note:

• Tom Brady wasn,t selected until the 6th round of the NFL draft (199th pick) due to slow foot speed, lack of arm strength,  couldn’t throw a tight spiral and said he couldn’t improvise if a play broke down
• The greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan, was cut from his high school team.
• Walt Disney was fired from his job at a newspaper early in his career–they said he lacked imagination.
• Jerry Seinfeld was booed off stage in his first stand-up comedy appearance.
• Sir James Dyson suffered through 5,126 failed prototypes before he landed on the first working Dyson vacuum.

There are many, many other examples, both of famous personages  and not so famous people, that reinforce the concept, determination and persistence do lead to success.

Personal Experience

In the mid-2000’s, I was in a career rut and needed a change. In the past I had sought to move myself in different directions with middling success.

This time, I decided to persist until I made the career move of my dreams.  It took over approximately 350 direct and indirect applications over 7 months, resulting in more than 50 interviews (some I rejected myself, some I was not successful).

Ultimately, I did secure the job of my dreams, senior director of a large application development  and support team.  This only occurred through perseverance.

Simple Advice

Like the advice in the post I recently read, directed to an individual searching a career change, don’t be disheartened by failure, the odds   are in your favour for success in the long term, keep on going, you will get there.