Does Federer always try to hit the perfect shot and to win every game， set， and match？ Certainly， and so should you in whatever you do. Work hard. Practice. Master the fundamentals， and always try to do your best， knowing that sometimes you will fail because failure is on the path to mastery.
My younger brother teases me about my early years of developing as a speaker when I often failed to find an audience. I‘d beg schools and organizations for the chance to speak to them， but most turned me down as too young or too inexperienced or just too unusual. It was frustrating sometimes， but I knew I was still learning the ropes， figuring out what I needed to know to be a successful speaker.
When Aaron was in high school， he’d drive me all over the city searching for even a few people willing to listen to me. I‘d speak for free just for the experience. Even then my price was often too high. I must have rung up every school in Brisbane offering my services at no charge. Most turned me down initially， but every no just made me push harder for the next yes.
“Don’t you ever give up？” Aaron would say.
I didn‘t give up because every time I was turned down it hurt so much that I realized I’d found my passion. I really wanted to become a speaker. But even when I did manage to find an audience willing to listen to me， it didn‘t always go well. At one school in Brisbane， I started badly. Something distracted me， and I couldn’t find my way back on track. I was sweating through my shirt. I kept repeating myself. I wanted to crawl off in a hole and never be seen again. I did so poorly I thought word would spread and I‘d never be asked to speak in public for the rest of my life. When I finally finished and left the school， I felt like a laughingstock： my reputation was shot！
We can be our own harshest critics. I certainly was that day. But that flubbed performance made me focus even more on my dream. I worked at honing my presentation and delivery. Once you accept that perfection is just a goal， screwing up isn’t so hard to handle. Each misstep is still a step， another lesson learned， another opportunity to get it right the next time.
I realized that if you fail and give up， you will never get up. But if you learn the lessons of failure and keep trying to do your best， the rewards will come—not just in the approval of others but in the fulfillment of knowing that you are making the most of every day allotted to you.
It builds character
Is it possible that messing up can build you up and make you more fit for success？ Yes！ What does not destroy you can make you stronger， more focused， more creative， and more determined to pursue your dreams. You may be in a rush to succeed， and there is nothing wrong with that， but patience is a virtue too， and failure certainly will develop that trait in you. Believe me， I‘ve learned that my schedule isn’t necessarily in God‘s day planner. He has his own time line and the rest of us have to wait for it to unfold.
This lesson really hit me when I joined my uncle Sam Radojevic in a startup business to manufacture and market his recumbent bicycle called the Hippo Cycle. We began in 2006， and our company still hasn’t taken off， but with each setback and mistake， we learn a little more and move a little closer to our goal. We are building a business and our characters too， no doubt about that. I‘ve learned that sometimes even though you may be doing your best， it’s not enough to make a business work. Timing can be critical too. The economy suffered a recession just as we launched the business. We‘ve had to be patient， hang in there， and wait for the times and the trends to come back our way.
There will be times when you will have to wait for the world to catch up to you. Thomas Edison， who went through more than ten thousand failed experiments before he developed a commercial lightbulb， said most of those who consider themselves failures are people who did not realize how close to success they were when they gave up. They were almost there， going through failure， but still bound for success. But they gave up before the tide could turn for them.
You never know what lies around the next corner. It could be the answer to your dreams. So you have to buck up， stay strong， and keep fighting. If you fail， so what？ If you fall， so what？ Edison also said： “Every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.”
If you do your best， God will do the rest， and whatever is meant to come your way will come. You have to be strong of character to win， and every loss can be a character-building experience if you are open to it.
In 2009 I spoke at the Oaks Christian School in Westlake， California. This small school is known for being a giant killer on the football field. Just recently their starting quarterback was the son of famed NFl quarterback Joe Montana. His backup was the son of Wayne Gretzky， the hockey legend. And their star receiver was the son of the wonderful actor Will Smith.
Their football team has won six consecutive conference championships. When I spoke there， I met the founder of the school， David Price， and I realized where Oaks Christian athletic teams learned about strength of character.
David had been an attorney in a big Hollywood law firm with movie stars and movie studios as clients. He then went to work for an entrepreneur who owned hotels and resorts along with land all over California， including several golf courses. David was adept at managing businesses， and he saw that most golf courses were poorly run because they were usually operated by golf professionals who had never learned good business practices.
One day David went to his boss and said he wanted to buy a golf course from him.
“First of all， you work for me，” the boss said， “so why should I sell you anything？ Secondly， you know nothing about golf. And thirdly， you have no money！”
David failed to convince his boss at first， but he didn’t give up. He persevered. He kept pestering him until the boss bought into David‘s dream and sold him the golf course he wanted. It was just the first of more than 350 golf courses that David eventually owned or leased.