Failure Essay Samples

My greatest failure

One of the greatest failures in my life was when I attempted to roll out an android mobile application during my early years of college. However, due to my inexperience and naivety I greatly underestimated the effort required to roll out a successful software product. Brimming with confidence, I approached an angel investor with my elevator pitch and I assured him that I would have a working prototype in a month. The investor agreed to grant me an audience in a month’s time, and with this in mind, I set out to create an application. It was at this stage I was confronted with the greatest lesson in my career as a software developer; theoretical lessons are worlds are far different from the practical implementation. First, the time was barely enough to get a rough draft of my mobile application. In addition, bugs plagued my development efforts at every turn. There was also a lot of issues I had not considered like where and how I would host my application. Needless to say, I had nothing to show at the end of the agreed time. However, it was a great learning experience. I learned that project management is a critical part of any software development effort. In addition, I interacted with a potential investor and learned the nuances involved, and though my venture was not successful, I’m glad I tried.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Learning from failure

Failure is not a weakness, but an opportunity to try again and try and make it right. Whenever you fail, you rise up, dust yourself, and keep moving. I had a dream of making it to the university and pursuing a degree in Electrical engineering. That was my ambition in life. I was always fascinated by how electronic gadgets work. How we harness electricity from flowing water, how someone from another country is able to communicate with a friend in another country miles away. I always wanted to know how very small electronic components give life to a television, and we can see live images. It was because of these desires that I worked hard in high school to make my dream a reality. I eventually did my best and secured a chance to join the university and pursue my life long desire subject, electrical technology. At first, it was all about getting to know the basics, which was not all that complicated. As we progressed, the units got tougher and tougher with time. It was no longer a walk in the park. I had to work extra time and conduct more research than ever before. Although I still had the desire to continue, I did better on the practical areas than the theoretical part. This was not good enough as both were important and were to be examined. For one to get a better mean grade, you had to excel in bot theory and practical. Although I put my best foot forward, I wasn't good in theory as i was in practicals. Hence, I failed my final examinations as my average marks were lower than the minimum required. I was totally disappointed and let down. I still feel the disappointment to this very day.

Learning lessons from life

Learning lessons from past experiences is one of major aspects I Cherish about life. While growing up, I wanted to be an established business professional. However, my parents vowed that i was destined to become an engineer irrespective of own aspirations. My life desires and ambitions were drawn towards a career in business and any aspect related to business. I put in hard work and determination in my studies and obtained good grades to secure enrollment to pursue civil engineering in one of the best universities in Kenya. Two years into my Engineering course, i found out that i performed dismally in part due to lack of motivation and partly due to career change desires. Be it as it was, engineering still seemed an excellent career option with numerous opportunities for growth and development, but the passion and desire to venture into the field of business was uncontrollable. I made a life long decision and applied for a change in course despite protests from my parents. I vowed never to let bad grades and other people's opinion determine my fate in life. Fast forward, i was accepted by the school of economics and completed my business degree within three and a half years. Currently, i enjoy working as a business consultant and sharing my compassion with people. If i had not taken a brave decision, I would probably have ended up in a bad career because i was not drawn to it. Since then, I have learned to pursue things or projects with desire rather than pursuing projects with money value or because other people's opinions. Prosperity and other values will fall into place provided all energies are dedicated towards fulfilling that particular goal. From that experience, i learned that i was not a failure, but rather experienced failure to achieve success.

Failure stories in business

I always consider myself as a very result oriented person. Once I set my mind on something, I stop at nothing to have it accomplished. This has the benefit of being successful in most endeavors. However, life is not always served on a silver platter. At times, we can't help but go through some trying times. This happened to me a while back as I was trying to start a business. I had done meticulous planning and was sure that it would be a success. Every person I had shared the idea with agreed that indeed, it was a very noble business idea. I was therefore set for success and was already feeling successful. A market survey also indicated that I was bound to have instant success in the market considering mine was quite a unique niche, never before attempted. A month to the launch of the business, everything was in place. I was just waiting for the D-day. My partner, who was also a 50% shareholder in the venture, was as excited as I was. A week to the launching date, I received a call early in the morning. It was from my partner. Without any specific reason, he said he had to pull out. He couldn't go on with the investment. I still don't understand why he did what he did, but I had to put off launch by another month.

Failed interview

It was a jubilant Monday morning, I was well prepared for the interview. I had thought about the questions that would come up and made a list. In that regard, I had memorized the entire list of questions and planned in my head the possible answers to give. I quickly got on to a bus and headed to town. I arrived on time and was confident that I would ace this interview. However, things did not turn out as I had expected. When I got in I was welcomed and made to take a seat. Then once I had sat down I froze. I could not remember any of the questions I had memorized the previous day. I began to panic, my armpits filled with sweat, I could feel the sweat trickle down my shirt. I begun to choke, so I asked for a glass of water. Furious, the interviewing panel said that I could only have the water after the interview. From that point on my mind went blank. I could not even answer a simple question as introducing myself. The interviewer stood up in frustration and said "well if you cannot speak then get out, next." I could not believe what was unfolding right before my eyes. I had planned it all so well yet I flopped the interview miserably. To this day, I consider that interview the greatest failure in my life. I have vowed to never let that happen to me again in the future.