Success Scars

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TOM@RICHHABITS.NET

The road to success is no victory lap—it’s a brutal gauntlet, etched with failures that leave indelible marks. These “success scars” aren’t wounds, however, they’re the hard-learned lessons forged through experimentation, taking risks, problem-solving, overcoming obstacles and survival. These success scars teach us what works and what doesn’t work.

As my Rich Habits research reveals, most self-made millionaires, except the Saver-Investor millionaires, must claw through adversity, emerging wiser, tougher, and laser-focused on what truly works. The pursuit demands grit, and those scars? They’re your map to mastery.

Consider the data from my five-year study of 233 wealthy individuals and 128 struggling ones, detailed in Rich Habits: The Daily Routines Millionaires Use To Build Wealth – A staggering 27% of the rich admitted to childhood poverty, nearly a third admitted to failing at least once in life and 80% of my Rich Habits self-made millionaires faced “bad luck” or major setbacks like job losses, business flops, or personal crises.

Yet, these weren’t endpoints. They became pivot points.

Wealthy folks transformed the scars into strategies and processes, viewing failure not as defeat but as a brutal School of Hard Knocks tutor.

In contrast, only 6% of the poor persevered in the face of adversity, often retreating into victimhood or avoidance at the first obstacle or problem.

Why?

Success scars force introspection: What did I do wrong? Why didn’t it work? How did it break? What do I need to do to fix this?

This trial-by-fire weeds out the fragile, leaving only the relentless.

In a SUCCESS Magazine feature on my work, I highlighted how 88% of millionaires read biographies of icons like Thomas Edison, who racked up 10,000 failed lightbulb prototypes before illuminating the world.

Edison’s success scars were forged through his failures that were worsened by media and peer mockery and near-bankruptcy. But these success scars taught Edison what worked and what didn’t work. His relentless efforts and unyielding focus eventually created massive success.

Many of my CNBC articles surrounding my Rich Habits research often reference a common data-point – that 94% of the rich dedicate 30 minutes daily to self-education and three hours to daily practice, often born from failure’s sting – daily growth habits that eventually transform ordinary individuals into successful, wealthy high achievers who are recognized as virtuosos in what they do.

A botched deal leaves success scars that expose knowledge gaps.

A layoff reveals networking voids or skill or knowledge gaps.

These lessons aren’t abstract—they’re visceral, forcing you to grow and improve or remain unemployable.

In the face of adversity, you are forced to rewrite your playbook.

Take my own story, woven through Rich Habits lore and outlets like CNN and Huffington Post. At nine, a fire razed my family’s multimillion-dollar business, plunging us into poverty for 14 years.

That experience left a scar that birthed an obsession in me to find out what some people become rich while others wallow in a life of poverty.

I learned frugality isn’t stinginess—it’s survival.

I learned that taking risk isn’t reckless. It can be calculated and analytical.

Third-party studies back this: Harvard Business Review notes that 75% of ventures fail, but founders with “scar tissue” from prior busts succeed 20% more in round two.

Failure’s textbook is thick because it exposes many root causes: arrogance, ego, poor timing, inadequate working capital, bad partners, weak teams.

Pursuing success is brutally difficult: sleep lost to doubt, relationships strained by endless work days, egos shattered in boardrooms. Yet, these scars empower.

As I wrote in a Business Insider piece, relentless action amid adversity boosts confidence, turning effort into empowerment.

The reality is you learn a textbook from failure.

The poor repeat mistakes; the rich learn from their mistakes and pivot.

So, embrace the scars. They’re not blemishes—they’re badges of hard-fought lessons.

In my studies, 76% of millionaires volunteer or mentor, paying forward lessons from their success scars. Start small: Journal a recent flop, extract three fixes. Read voraciously. Network fiercely. Success isn’t gifted; it’s gouged out, scar by scar.

Those marks? They’re your competitive edge. Wear them proud—they’re how the ordinary become unstoppable.

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.