… failure is never fatal. I learned the other day that if a shark stops swimming … it will die. It needs to keep swimming to keep oxygen rich water flowing through it’s gills. Of course without rest and sleep … we would all expire. But the shark’s dilemma does provide a message to heed.

We can never stop “swimming.” either. Never.Played golf with a guy years ago. I chopped the course up like a tossed salad. Shanks, missed two footers. All of it. But I kept my cool. Never complained or opined the usual, “Haven’t played in months.” Played on. Kept going. Just moved from one bad shot to another. Stern faced for sure. But I played on.

When we finished the round, my host and I sat down for a drink.“You know, Bob … you learn a lot more about someone when they play poorly than when they play well.”I never forgot his words. Always embrace, if not welcome adversity. Our losses pave the path to wins … future successes. They are absolutely necessary for success to follow.In fact we never win or lose … we only win or learn.Curtis Strange, the legendary pro golfer took a big risk while playing in the 1985 Masters. A dumb mistake really. He was positioned to win the golf tournament. But due to an poorly planned, errant shot on the 15th hole … he lost to the eventual winner Bernard Langer.

But this wasn’t the end of the story. Strange swallowed his failure in 1985 … kept “swimming” and went on to win! Two consecutive US Opens in 1988 and ‘89. One of the greatest comebacks in sports history. His failure in ‘85 proved not to be fatal. He stayed the course and won. Wow! Success is never final. Failure is never fatal.What a great lesson. Just keep “swimming!”