What’s Your Greatest Failure? Great!

Some time ago, I received a phone call from a friend of mine, Tony Jeary, asking if I could meet with a client of his. The client, Splash Media, wanted to start a success oriented TV network.

Splash was made up of 2 principals, Marc Sparks and Chris Kraft. They picked my brain about the personal development industry as well as my own ventures, YourSuccessStore.com and Jim Rohn International. Over a period of several months we came up with a concept, TSTN, The Success and Training Network. I was able to bring in many big names into the endeavor including Jim Rohn, Les Brown, Stephen Covey, Brian Tracy just to name a few. My time was limited so I suggested we pursue a 20 year friend of mine, Darren Hardy to be the President. Yes, this was a few years prior to Darren becoming the Publisher of SUCCESS Magazine.

So that’s the backdrop to this valuable lesson I learned from Marc Sparks.

It was our second or third meeting and Marc was ready to get down to some gut level conversations. He shared with me some of his biggest successes as well as his most challenging moments. Then it was my turn. He had heard my best stories as well as any special spin I had on them. 🙂

But he was really interested in what my worst failures and disappointments had been in business and, in particular, the personal development industry.

Trust me, I had plenty to share, but one in particular stood out. It included miscalculations, bad decisions and poor leadership on my part and at the end of the day a huge financial blow, which all in all took me almost 3 years to recover from. And yes, it was humbling and a bit embarrassing to share it all, but the truth is the truth.

So after baring my soul, Marc looked at me and said, “GREAT! I never do business with anyone who has yet to have their first big failure because when they do, I don’t want it to happen on my watch and my dime.”

Haha, I had never looked at it that way. I could honestly tell him that those 3 years did serve me well because of the lessons I learned and the experience I gained. Unfortunately, often times those very failures can be heavily weighed against us.

I’ve since taken Marc’s insightful perspective and applied it to my own criteria when evaluating partnerships and JV deals.

Our failures and mistakes will always be the greatest teachers and life-long lessons when we learn from them and keep them in the proper perspective.

Marc, thanks again for your trust and a great life lesson!

To Your Better Future,

Kyle Wilson

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Kyle Wilson is the founder of Jim Rohn International and YourSuccessStore, he also is the co-author of Chicken Soup for the Entrepreneur’s Soul. To learn more about Kyle go here.

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"I guard my endorsements carefully. Regarding Kyle, he is simply a marketing genius! No joke. Kyle was the wizard behind the successful business of my mentor Jim Rohn. Every marketing dilemma I have ever had, Kyle has given me the brilliant and elegant solution on the spot. Kyle’s consulting has saved and earned me hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years."

Darren Hardy

Former Publisher SUCCESS Magazine

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Jim Rohn

(1930-2009), Internationally
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"Kyle Wilson is brilliant and very knowledgeable and an icon in this industry. He was the power behind Jim Rohn. Kyle is my longtime friend and someone I have a great deal of respect for."

Les Brown

Iconic Speaker and Author

"Kyle you were a master to work with when filming and producing at my house. Also, Helen and I have toured and done so many 'meet and greets' and have had all kinds of cool activities and opportunities on the road, but last year at your house at the Inner Circle Mastermind ranks at the top as one of the all time best experiences we have ever had on the road. At your house the people and the love was so amazing. We are use to doing all the giving, but that day we felt loved and cared for. It was just an amazing experience! We still talk about it to this day. It is at the top of our tour memories from over all these years!"

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Lead Guitarist, Def Leppard

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Host Amazon Show, Producer,
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Professional Speaker,
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7x Emmy Winning Broadcaster,
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Founder of Network Marketing
Pro and International Best-Selling
Author of Go Pro

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TV & Media Host, Speaker,
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"Kyle Wilson is the man! When I made the decision to transition from my 15 year MLB career to being a speaker, best-selling author and business consultant I researched and then sought out the man who has been behind such iconic speakers as Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy and many others. Hiring Kyle as my coach has been one of the smartest decisions I made.“

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Author of Relentless Success,
15 Year MLB Pitcher
and 3x World Champion

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Author of The Monk Who
Sold His Ferrari

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Actor in Over 250 Movies and Shows

"Kyle is one of the wisest and most brilliant marketing consultants in the world. He is the man behind the great marketing of Jim Rohn International and so many other personal development legends. He is not only someone I’ve enjoyed collaborating and working with for over two decades, but is also a close and valued friend. I recommend Kyle without equivocation."

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Co-Creator of World’s
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Chicken Soup for the Soul

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Wellness Mompreneur,
#1 Best-Selling Author
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Best-Selling Author The Little Red Book of Selling

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President of Zig Ziglar Corp

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2x Grammy Winner,
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"When I met Kyle Wilson I had been speaking professionally for 12 years and my biggest ‘achievement’ was $60,000 in debt to the IRS, a truck I prayed every day would start, and a simple 6 CD memory training set. Kyle coached me to market that CD set and in less than 12 months my IRS debt was gone and I was speaking in Australia, Bangkok, Belgium, Singapore, Malaysia and all over the USA with the biggest names in the speaking business. It was almost magical how Kyle took my business from giving speeches in the back room of an IHOP restaurant to audiences as large as 8,000 in what seemed like overnight. I can honestly say that Kyle Wilson was not a major factor in turning my business around. Kyle Wilson was THE factor. I can’t strongly recommend his wisdom, knowledge, business mind or who he is as a person enough."

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Best-Selling Author of
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2009 & 2010 US Memory Champion

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Jeanette Ortega

Best-Selling Author of
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Host of EOFire Podcast with
over 100 million Downloads

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Speaker and Best-Selling Author
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Featured on ABC’s Hit TV show
Secret Millionaire &
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Speaker, Passionista, Founder of
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PGA Tour Mentor,
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Best-Selling Author The Angel Inside

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# 1 best selling author
and Tedx speaker

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(Business) Managing Director,
(Military) Colonel, USMC (Ret)

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Entrepreneur, Author, Educator, Mom

"Kyle you have greatly influenced my life and career. You and Jim made a perfect team with a legacy that will continue to change lives more than any otherthought leaders with timeless wisdom."