It is commonly believed that failure is the opposite of success. Indeed, it is part of success. It is in failure we have lessons hidden for us. In every failure, we can see the secret formula of success. We must continue to struggle against odds with our backs to wall till we finally win. Robert H. Schuller once remarked, “failure doesn't mean that you are a failure. It means that you haven't succeeded yet.” Similarly, Henry Ford illustrated the concept of failure in his own way, “failure is only the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently.” Therefore, it is not the failure which determines our character but the test of real character is our will and indomitable determination to continue fighting after each time we fall, fail or falter. Sir Winston Churchillonce beautifully remarked, "Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts." Our failures teach us experience, knowledge and skills. It sharpens our intelligence, builds our stamina and makes us more resilient. It rather brings out the best in us. So, failure is not an opposite to success. It is very much part and parcel of success. History is replete with ample examples of great leaders who rose to the Olympian heights of glory and gleam after a flurry of failures. Self-belief is the pillar which holds us together even when chips are down. Have you ever had someone truly believe in you? Have you ever felt the security and belief that builds within you, when someone, through word or deed says – 'I believe in you'? King Robert Bruce of Scotland was a brave and courageous ruler. He fought many battles against the English but every time he was defeated. Once he ran from the battlefield for his life and disappeared in mountains. He hid himself in a cave. The enemy followed him but could not trace him. He was very disappointed. He decided not to struggle any more for the freedom of his motherland. Meanwhile, he caught sight of a spider It was hanging by a silken thread. It tried to reach its web, but slipped and fell down. It tried again and fell. It did not lose heart and tried again and again but fell down every time. At its ninth failure, King Bruce thought that the foolish insect would try no more. But to his surprise, after taking some rest, it began to climb again. The king rose and sat. He was curious to know the result of its tenth attempt. But this time it succeeded. The king stood up and exclaimed, "Bravo! Bravo! all honor to those who try, try again.” He thought if an insect like this can overcome its distress why should not he try this secret formula. He came out of the cave and gathered his army. He attacked the English once again with far stronger determination, defeated them thoroughly, and thus, finally, achieved freedom for his motherland. Self-belief is the pillar which holds us together even when chips are down. Have you ever had someone truly believe in you? Have you ever felt the security and belief that builds within you, when someone, through word or deed says- 'I believe in you'? Here is a soul stirring story about a letter Thomas Edison brought home from school, that illustrates this point. One day Thomas Edison came home and gave a paper to his mother. He told her, "My teacher gave this paper to me and told me to only give it to my mother." His mother’s eyes were tearful as she read the letter out loud to her child: “Your son is a genius. This school is too small for him and doesn’t have enough good teachers for training him. Please teach him yourself.” Many years later, after Edison’s mother had died, he was looking through old family things. Now one of the greatest inventors of the century, he suddenly saw a folded piece of paper in the corner of a desk drawer. He took it and opened it up. On the paper was written: “Your son is addled [mentally ill]. We won’t let him come to school anymore.” Edison cried for hours and then he wrote in his diary, “Thomas Alva Edison was an addled child that, by a hero mother, became the genius of the century.” Likewise, Einstein graduated from the renowned Swiss Polytechnic Institute at the age of 21, and he was struggling to find employment. To make matters worse, Einstein had a terrible reputation as a student. He skipped classes, and his professors never took him seriously. Moreover, Einstein never performed spectacular in school. He did so poorly that he nearly decided to drop out, and just sell life insurance. After graduating, Einstein had to work many odd jobs to sustain himself. Einstein’s father died believing he was a complete failure. Einstein was absolutely heartbroken. Eventually, he found legitimate employment as a patent clerk. Every day, he would sit down, review patents, and analyze mathematical equations as patents had a lot of math in them. Einstein loved it and the rest is history from here. Our failures teach us in more ways than one. After a few major failures you come to certain realizations about what people say they want and what they actually want. You learn not to take ‘no’ for an answer. You keep pushing and prodding, no matter what it takes. Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC was famously rejected 1,009 times before someone agreed to his franchise chicken model. But he knew, deep down inside, that his product was superior. He harbored the belief that eventually people would start to say yes. Similarly, Henry Ford’s first two companies failed. The first one went bankrupt. And the second one he had to walk away from with only the rights to his name after a big dispute. But it was his third try that really sealed the deal. He was so passionate about his mission that he refused to give up. I learned that it’s a natural progression to become more passionate about your mission the more times you fail. It’s a result of refining the ideas in your mind, solidifying them in thought, making them far more real and concrete. Often, you become so passionate that you can just about taste success. If you failed, it’s not the end of the road. It’s a new beginning. It’s the chance to pick yourself back up again and try again, but this time with all the knowledge, wisdom, and experience you garnered from the last several tries. It’s hard to go through failure alone. We generally strive to creating a deeper connection with our community. We go to church, temple, or mosques. We attend religious gatherings to deepen our connection to our Master Creator-Allah Almighty- and His people. We seek the help of mentors, looking to others to help us wade through the torments of failure. Through our failures, we look to strengthening our bond with people in our community. We reach out to share with our loved ones what we were going through. Our lives might be unique, but the stories tend to repeat themselves over and over again. And those stories exist in other people’s lives as well. Through their experience, we are able to overcome some of our worst failures. And so can you. When you fail, you destroy a part of your ego. Depending on how monumental that failure was, you lose either a major chunk or a small piece of your precious ego. Once that ego is shattered as a result of failure, you begin to recognize your bad habits. Indeed, it is the bad habits which pave the way for your failure. In fact, bad habits can all but ruin our chances for success in anything. And I literally mean anything. Part of our failures were the results of bad habits that were ingrained in us for years and years. It’s the proverbial cliché, “Never give up.” But, while it sounds mundane and over-repeated, it’s entirely true. When you harbor deep enough meanings for succeeding, you learn to never give up, no matter what the situation. No matter how many times people laugh at you, walk all over you, or just plain ignore you, you just keep pushing. It doesn’t matter if we only progress just a little bit each day. What matters more is that we make some progress at all. We can’t just stop and in constant journey lies hidden our destined moment which has our final success in store for us. The writer is a civil servant by profession, a writer by choice and a motivational speaker by passion!