Sometimes You Win – Sometimes You Learn

Life’s Greatest Lessons Are Gained from Our Losses

Center Street, 2013

15 min read

10 take-aways

Audio & text

What's inside?

How to capitalize on failure: It doesn’t matter how often you lose; it matters how much you learn from it.

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Editorial Rating

Qualities

Applicable
For Beginners
Inspiring

Recommendation

Inspiring, prolific and best-selling author John. C. Maxwell explains how to learn from and cope with failure. Maxwell draws on examples, stories and observations, creating a readable manual filled with practical observations. If you put winning ahead of learning, Maxwell says, you will suffer, because failure is part of life. In the face of loss, he urges, remain hopeful and try to be “teachable.” Maxwell is a breezy, direct writer. His advice carries the weight of hard-earned knowledge and fundamental common sense. Maxwell evokes great thinkers – like psychologist Karl Jung – and the lessons of tiny, everyday experiences. getAbstract recommends his uplifting book to managers, entrepreneurs, anyone who is having a hard time, and everyone who believes the self can and should evolve.

Summary

Losing Isn’t Fun, But...

You are born into the school of life with lessons to learn. If you do not learn them the first time, you may face the same lesson repeatedly in many different forms. How often you win is not important. What matters is what you learn from losing. The opportunity to learn lasts as long as you live. You may not always win, but you always have an opportunity to learn. Guidelines to a lifetime of learning include:

1) “Learning too often decreases as winning increases” – You risk becoming smug and self-satisfied if you win too often. 2) Learning is possible only when your thinking changes – Your patterns of thought determine whether you win. As the writer and philosopher J. Krishnamurti explained, “To know is to be ignorant. Not to know is the beginning of wisdom.” 3) Maintain a positive mental attitude – Remain constructive, and nothing can get you down. “The worst thing that could happen to you today could lead to the best thing that happens tomorrow.” 4) Embrace creativity in every situation – Jettison old habits and ways of thinking. The restrictions holding you back are often nothing more than “imaginary boundaries...

About the Author

John C. Maxwell’s books have sold more than 23 million copies. He founded EQUIP and the John Maxwell Company, organizations that have trained more than five million people in leadership.

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S. S. 1 year ago

Very nice
T. P. 5 years ago

Great Book
U. G. 1 decade ago

Great intro to the author. The synopsis on this particular book is rather too short - could have been a better insight into this wonderful book is going to unfold to its readers. Because I do strongly beleive that John Maxwell is no ordinary book so I am inspired to buy and keep in my constant reading library, so I can learn more every time I encounter a big challenge as I am going through today.