You Learn a Textbook from Failure and a Paragraph from Success

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Success is a fleeting teacher, offering a brief paragraph of lessons—often superficial, ego-stroking, and incomplete. Failure, however, is a master educator, delivering a textbook of hard-won wisdom that shapes character, resilience, and strategy. This dichotomy is evident in personal development, business, and the stories of those who’ve turned setbacks into stepping stones. Drawing from my Rich Habits research, media coverage, and third-party insights, we explore why failure’s lessons are profound and enduring, while success often provides only a fleeting pat on the back.

In my Rich Habits studies, I tracked the daily habits of wealthy and struggling individuals, uncovering that failure is a common thread among those who ultimately succeed. The wealthy don’t shy away from failure; they embrace it as a mentor. For instance, my research showed that 27% of self-made millionaires failed at least once in business, yet those failures taught them critical lessons about risk management, persistence, and adaptability. One media outlet, Forbes, highlighted this in a 2016 article about my work, noting that “failure is the crucible where true success is forged, as it forces individuals to confront weaknesses and refine their approach.” Unlike success, which can breed complacency, failure demands introspection and change.

The lessons leaned from Failure can fill a textbook of thousands of words. The failure textbook is thick because it exposes vulnerabilities and forces growth. Thomas Edison, often cited in success literature, failed thousands of times before perfecting the light bulb. Each misstep taught him what didn’t work, refining his process.

Similarly, my Rich Habits findings revealed that successful individuals practice deliberate learning, spending 30 minutes or more daily on self-education—often spurred by failures that highlighted knowledge gaps. A 2020 Entrepreneur article echoed this, stating, “Failure teaches entrepreneurs to pivot, adapt, and innovate, while success often reinforces existing behaviors without questioning their longevity.”

Success, by contrast, teaches you much less because success can obscure flaws, cause egoistic thinking and lead to complacency. A 2018 Harvard Business Review study found that companies riding high on success often fail to innovate, citing Nokia’s fall as a prime example. My Rich Habits data aligns with this: 84% of the wealthy attributed long-term success to habits formed in response to failures, not successes. Success feels good but rarely forces the deep emotional reflection that failure causes.

In a 2021 TED Talk, psychologist Angela Duckworth discussed how grit—born from overcoming setbacks—outweighs talent in predicting success. Failure builds grit by teaching resilience and humility, qualities absent in the fleeting glow of triumph.

Similarly, my work, featured in a 2019 CNBC article, emphasized that wealthy individuals view failure as painful feedback, not defeat, using it to refine their habits and strategies.

Ultimately, failure’s textbook is rigorous, forcing us to rewrite our story with every lesson. Conversely, Success paragraph often lacks depth, leaving us unprepared for the next challenge. As my Rich Habits research and countless stories show, embracing failure as a teacher equips us with the tools to build lasting success—one hard-earned chapter at a time.

Tom Corley

Tom Corley is an accountant, financial planner, public speaker, and author of the books “Effort-Less Wealth: Smart Money Habits At Every Stage of Your Life” and “RichKids: How to Raise Our Children to Be Happy and Successful in Life“.  Corley’s work has appeared on CNN, USA Today, The Huffington Post, SUCCESS Magazine, and many other media outlets and podcasts in the U.S. and 27 other countries. Tom is a frequent contributor to Business Insider and CNBC.