---
title: You have to fail to succeed
description: Failure isn’t fatal, but failure to change might be.' You need to heed the words of legendary basketball coach, John Wooden to succeed in sales.
image: https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hubfs/Blog_Featured_Images/pexels-30903795.jpg
---

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 Jun 13, 2025

# You have to fail to succeed

![Picture of Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png?width=50&name=Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png) [Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer)

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The game Angry Birds has held at least 10 Guinness World Records.

It was the first app to be downloaded 1 billion times. (It has done multiples of that since.)

It has lead to a movie, retails stores, spinoffs and more.

What most do not know is that Angry Birds was the 52nd—FIFTY-SECOND—game released by Rovio.

What if they had quit after 51 failures?

Harmonix created nine other games before hitting it big with Guitar Hero (and teaching my kids what real rock and roll is!!)

WD-40 was the 40th variation of "water displacement." How would we stop bike chains from rusting, hinges from squeaking, and babies from sucking their thumbs without WD-40? (I'm kidding about one of those uses...bike chains will always rust.)

And of course we know about Henry Ford's famous Model-T. It took that many models to score a winner.

When I promoted a webinar I was hosting for a new program and only 10 people registered and none attend...I learned.

When I spent $349 on Google AdWords and didn't get a single conversion...I learned.

When I launched a new mastermind group and nobody signed up...I learned.

When I built my first terrible little website on Jimdo in 2009...I learned.

When I got my first chargeback from a lazy entrepreneur...I learned. (I also won that fraudulent claim.)

When I lost my first chargeback...I learned. (NOTE: When you conduct live training you must have people sign in to prove they were there. This woman attended two days of training then claimed she didn't get what she purchased and despite having pictures of her attending they were inadmissible to my merchant account, so I couldn't prove she was there.)

When I launched my first podcast way back in 2009 and couldn't stick with it with my partner at the time...I learned. (Yesterday I published my 208th episode of [The Sales Podcast](https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/podcast) since July 2013. I'm up to 464 now.)

[![Subscribe To The Sales Podcast](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/443614/aaacdca8-c4e9-41c8-9b16-b58683c24e3b.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/443614/aaacdca8-c4e9-41c8-9b16-b58683c24e3b)

More than once I've gotten a tabletop or a booth at a trade show and lost money. I learned.

Literally every day I'm looking at my website, at my landing pages, at my follow-up sequences, at my banner ads, at my social media posts, at this email series and I'm seeing what is working, what is not working, and I'm making adjustments to grow and to improve.

It's what you do in business and in life. You persevere.

It's what Jesus, through [Paul's writing to Timothy](http://www.usccb.org/bible/2timothy/2), expects of us. 

In that letter, Paul tells Timothy to

- be strong,
- to pass along the Good News to others,
- bear your share of hardship,
- to follow the rules when you compete like an athlete,
- to work hard as a farmer does so that you may receive the first share of the crop,
- to bear hardship and suffering so as to be an example to others seeking the same goals.

Neither success nor failure is permanent. 

To fail to reach a goal does not make you a failure. It simply means you need to adjust your efforts and/or change your goals.

That's easier to do when you have an accountability partner, an encourager, similar to how Timothy had Paul, and Paul had Timothy. It's also why Jesus sent His disciples out "two by two" in [Mark 6:7](http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/6:7). 

And it's why God sent the Holy Spirit to land on the shoulder of Jesus as a dove after He was baptized in [Matthew 3:16](http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/3:16).

Who's encouraging you to stay the course?

Market like you mean it.  
Now go sell something.

[![Score My Pipeline](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/443614/interactive-178194433547.png)](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLKlz48u04q3pMXeB9zA0jIp76RpcCgLJJVmN1ukGCzvaaP78QF8rWbqblvwRDfRcmxJDKYvOWlaI0ZcJVYtOYDM4A2RpossORzwJQe8MlrDXCswrwtEXZ0LG74RRtKNYxf9AcTlGfouwtxajzOWlFd%2Bt4190JhKE3b%2BKZN%2B9EM6pM4KgSHqL7bB2%2BAUC7p0t%2FQs8jb8SsbG&webInteractiveContentId=178194433547&portalId=443614)

## Related posts

[![](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/dan_kennedy_wes_schaeffer_2008_infusionsoft.jpg?height=200&name=dan_kennedy_wes_schaeffer_2008_infusionsoft.jpg)](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/grown-ups-own-up-to-their-own-mess-ups)

## [Grown Ups Own Up To Their Own Mess Ups](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/grown-ups-own-up-to-their-own-mess-ups)

![Picture of Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png?width=50&name=Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png) [Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer) 

 Jun 13, 2025

Years ago, I heard him tell a story of how he took responsibility for being rear-ended.

[Read more](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/grown-ups-own-up-to-their-own-mess-ups)

[![Salesforce vs Keap for Trade Show Marketing](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Keap%20Trade%20Show%20Marketing%20Campaign%202.png?height=200&name=Keap%20Trade%20Show%20Marketing%20Campaign%202.png)](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/salesforce-vs-keap-trade-show-marketing)

[Keap CRM Review](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/keap-crm-review), [Sales Training](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/sales-training), [ROI of AI](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/roi-of-ai)

## [Salesforce vs Keap for Trade Show Marketing](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/salesforce-vs-keap-trade-show-marketing)

![Picture of Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png?width=50&name=Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png) [Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer) 

 Jun 13, 2025

Easily 50-90% of trade show leads are wasted (because 70-90% of salespeople working the booths are...

[Read more](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/salesforce-vs-keap-trade-show-marketing)

[![How to recover from failure — AI-powered sales insights from Wes Schaeffer, The Sales Whisperer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Featured_Images/pexels-7952673.jpg?height=200&name=pexels-7952673.jpg)](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/recover-failure-especially-public)

[custom AI solution development](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/custom-ai-solution-development), [Sales Training](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/sales-training), [ROI of AI](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/roi-of-ai)

## [How to recover from failure (especially in public)](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/recover-failure-especially-public)

![Picture of Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png?width=50&name=Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png) [Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer) 

 Jun 13, 2025

"2015 Blizzard NYC" by Adrian Cabrero

[Read more](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/recover-failure-especially-public)

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