How to Finally Win Even If You Have Repeatedly Failed

I’m a writer, and writing, just like anything else, has its many challenges – such as, in most cases, being hit by writer’s block or having your works rejected countless times.

Writing is tough, and in my journey as a writer, particularly one who has been writing since early 2000, I’ve had my fair share of hard knocks.

Going by the fact that I have struggled for years now to be officially recognized as an “international writer“, my ambition to rise to global prominence has seen many roadblocks.

This has taught me a few lessons that I’m going to share with you today, and these are lessons you can relate to no matter the industry you find yourself in.

When I realized how impactful these things were, I’ve not stopped talking about it and encouraging people to apply the concepts in their bid to succeed at what they do.

Realizing that I have been writing for almost 2 decades now and that I’ve been playing it locally, I felt it was time to go international. I wanted to be officially recognized as a writer who is very sound and one that has contributed to the growth of many content platforms.

Although I have been a freelance writer (ghostwriter) for years, I was beginning to feel unaccomplished. I wanted my face to be recognized, or at least proper attribution is given whenever my works get published and used.

So I decided to unmask the man (the real me) who has been behind the scenes for a long time.

This came with many challenges that got me questioning my credibility. It made me rethink if I was really good at this or was it just my ego messing with me (Maybe I should probably go back behind the scenes – maybe that’s where I truly belong).

I could remember how I would pitch my articles to popular magazine platforms and blogs and what would immediately follow thereafter is rejection letters upon rejection letters.

This got so much that at some point I became depressed, and I was literally thinking about quitting the writing career altogether. I couldn’t just take it anymore – my heart was shattered on the floor (broken would have been an understatement).

It was around few weeks into this thought of quitting the writing career that I pitched another writeup (what I would have called), one last article to an authority site, a platform I had recently received 3-4 consecutive rejections from earlier.

But this was my last try. One last time wouldn’t kill a man, so I thought. And to my greatest surprise, it was accepted within a few days. Wow! Words can’t express how joyful I became.

Thoughts of “So I’m finally becoming a recognized international writer” overflowed my head and I realized that there were some things that this has taught me about life, about business, and about consistency that the world must know about.

So let’s look at these few but powerful lessons I learned from these experiences.

1. Dream Big But Prepare For The Worst

There is definitely nothing wrong in dreaming big or having great ambitions, but the problem is, we sometimes or often don’t prepare for failure. And this is more of the reason why we are seeing most people quit after just 1 or 2 tries. They immediately conclude within themselves that they are no good after all.

I told myself this too; I was questioning how good I was at this. I was almost resolving within me that I wasn’t good at all. If I had thrown in the towel, this would have seen the end of my writing career.

I had a big dream; becoming an internationally recognized writer wasn’t a child’s play. But I never realized that the road there is a narrow one and I’ve got to fight my way to make it to the top.

It wasn’t going to be a smooth ride, but I wasn’t prepared for the worst.

Rejection letters aren’t easy to accept or deal with. They have this piercing effect. And if one isn’t prepared, it will end your quest to become whom you want to be.

When you are prepared for the worst, and you hit those roadblock moments, however, you’ll know that failure doesn’t define you. It, rather, should propel you to want to do even better.

2. Keep Re-accepting The Challenge

The second thing I realized from this experience of mine is that anytime you are beaten down with your face on the floor, don’t end the round there. Get up again and keep re-accepting the challenge afresh.

The game isn’t over until you win. That’s the spirit (and mindset) you should have whenever you’re pursuing a goal, whether small or big.

Aiming to become a globally recognized writer, having my works showcased in top publications, meant that I was competing (directly and indirectly) with already established writers. So “who the hell am I?“ is a great question that I must answer and a point I’ll need to make in order to gain attention, too.

I’ll have to prove to the world that I have the ability, strength, and qualities of a winner. That I am indeed a writer who belongs in the front row.

I’ll need to present the world with skills that will qualify me for that position.

My works have to speak volumes of the potential I have in order to be considered a great fit for this. And all this will only be accomplished if I keep re-accepting the challenge anytime I hit the floor.

It means I’ll need to stand up with more courage, better than I had before hitting the floor, previously. It means that I’ll need to keep upping my game and playing smart.

3. Don’t Change The Goal, Change The Strategy Instead

Too often, we change the goal or dream rather than changing the strategy by which we are approaching something, which could be the reason we aren’t recording success yet.

In my many years now as a life and business coach, I see that a lot of people just change direction for something else without thoroughly looking deep to discover what has made them fail so many times, and based on this, should devise possible new means so that they can change the results they get to a positive one.

Because if you honestly think about it, what is the assurance you wouldn’t quit the new quest you’re embarking on when you hit another challenge along the way (which is definitely inevitable)? 

So instead of quitting so cheaply, why not try to find out if you are the one not doing some things correctly or if you’ll need to upgrade a few things.

For me, it was about fine tuning my writing to meet the standards of the international community that I am trying to distribute or showcase my contents to.

I discovered that there is a local code of communicating a message and there is an international language or concept of effective communication that must be met.

All this while I was struggling with the wrong things; it wasn’t even the choice of topics that I chose to write on, it was a matter of how I put the letters, phrases, and sentences together to drive home a point.

Immediately, I realized this. It was easy for me to go back to the drawing board and restrategize. I had to redo my homework and sharpen my skills in writing in order to effectively pass a message to the international audience.

These are the 3 important lessons I learned from my experience, and it stands out to be true because quite a lot of people who face rejection or failure at some level or the other seem to be quitting without taking into account these things and therefore working towards improving themselves.

Question: What setbacks or tough challenges are you currently battling within your niche? Have you had a second thought about your abilities, and do you want to quit soon?

Think deeply about these 3 Key things and start excelling in your career.