According to this Nike commercial, Michael Jordan missed 26 game-winning shots in his career. As Jordan says in the ad, “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
The obvious point is that even the best fail occasionally. The key is to keep going after the failure.
But what that ad doesn’t mention is:
1. Jordan also had an absolutely relentless work ethic.
2. When the game was on the line, Jordan wasn’t afraid to take the shot.
If you enroll in AP US History, or try out for the tennis team, or run for Student Body President, congratulations. You are willing to take the shot.
And if you work as hard in pursuit of that goal as Jordan did in pursuit of winning, you’ll earn plenty of pride and learning from the effort, no matter what the outcome.