"I Have Not Failed. I've Just Found 10,000 Ways That Won't Work."

In the third episode of this special four-part WORD MATTER series on FOCUS, Deanna Ley, The Catalytic Coach, redefines failure as a stepping stone to growth with Thomas Edison’s quote: “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”

Deanna explores how shifting our perspective on failure allows us to view setbacks as opportunities for learning and progress. With relatable examples, actionable strategies, and insights into how our brains adapt and grow, this episode will empower you to celebrate the twists and turns of life’s journey and embrace the lessons within each challenge.

What Listeners Will Learn:

• How to reframe failure as feedback and celebrate its role in progress
• Why resilience is strengthened every time you focus on a win
• How to use “bankable wins” to build confidence and move past setbacks
• The neuroscience behind failure and the power of neuroplasticity
• Practical steps to embrace failure, pivot, and keep moving forward

Memorable Quotes:

• “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” – Thomas Edison
• “Failure is not a permanent stop; it’s a nudge, a redirection, a chance to grow.”
• “Knowledge may open the door, but applying the knowledge is what moves you forward.”
• “Celebrate that feedback—it’s getting you one step closer to what you want for yourself.”
• “Your bankable wins are proof of your resilience.”
• “When you focus on growth, resilience, and your bankable wins, you create a life filled with momentum and possibility and fun.”

This episode inspires listeners to embrace failure as an essential part of the journey, to reframe challenges as opportunities, and to find joy and power in each twist and turn of life’s maze.

Your WORDS MATTER because YOU MATTER.

❤️❤️❤️

Transcript

Hello friends, and welcome back to another episode of WORDS MATTER. I am so glad you're here for part three of our four-part series on FOCUS. Over the last two episodes, we’ve talked about detaching from the outcome and attaching to progress, as well as shifting from a lack mentality to an abundance one. In this episode, we’re diving deep into the concept of failure—learning to see it not as an obstacle but as an opportunity for learning, growth, and yes, even fun.

Today’s quote is by Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb. He said, "I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work."

Think about that fantastic quote for a moment. Edison didn’t see his missteps as failures. To him, they were bits and pieces of information, each one showing him what didn’t work so he could figure out what did. That mindset is exactly what kept him moving forward. And today, we’re digging into how we can do the same—turning failure into feedback.

Let me ask you this: how often do you hit a challenge, experience a setback, or hit what feels like a dead end and immediately think, I’ve failed. I’m a failure. Maybe the thought even crosses your mind that you’re not good enough or that you should just quit while you’re ahead. Why even try? But what if you paused and reframed that entire experience? What if instead of seeing failure as the end, you saw it as an open door to help you step forward?

Imagine this with me for a minute: you’re in a maze. You’re walking along confidently, feeling like you’re on the right path. And then bam—out of nowhere, you hit a dead end. What do you do? Do you just sit down and give up? Do you bang on the wall and hope it turns into a door? Or do you turn around, retrace your steps, and try a different route?

With every twist and turn, you’re learning. You’re figuring out what doesn’t work. You’re bringing yourself closer to figuring out what does. You’re creating momentum that’s a force to be reckoned with. Here’s where it gets powerful: once you hit that dead end, you don’t keep going back to it, do you? That would be absurd. Instead, you take the feedback you just learned, adjust your direction, and keep going.

That’s the beauty of failure—it’s not a permanent stop. It’s a nudge, a redirection, a chance to grow. And that leads me to one of my favorite reframes: Knowledge may open the door, but applying the knowledge is what moves you forward. It’s not enough to know what doesn’t work. You have to take every bit of knowledge and apply it with intention.

That’s what progress is, friends. It’s not about perfection. It’s about action, learning, and trying again and again and again until you get to where you want to be. Here’s where the real magic happens: every time you apply what you’ve learned, you’re reinforcing your ability to grow and succeed. And it’s not just motivational mumbo jumbo—it’s science.

Neuroscience shows us that every time we focus on a win or take action based on what we’ve learned, we strengthen the neural pathways in our brains that are associated with resilience and problem-solving. Neuroplasticity is fantastic. It shows us that our brains can learn and adapt. The more you focus on your wins—on the moments where you figured something out, pivoted, or succeeded—the more you reinforce the mindset that says, I can handle this. I’ve got this. I can do this.

So, what if failure wasn’t just feedback? What if it was actually something to celebrate? Wait a minute, Deanna. Are you saying I should reframe failure as fun? Yes, I am! Think about it: every dead end you hit is a new clue. It’s a chance to play detective and uncover what the next right step could be.

The twists and turns of life can actually be fun when you lean into the adventure of figuring things out along the way. Edison didn’t dwell on the 10,000 ways that didn’t work. He took everything he learned from each of those ways and applied them to his next attempt. Thank goodness he didn’t quit. Where would we be today if he had?

He kept going. He kept moving. And so can you.

So you tried something and it didn’t work out the way you expected. Awesome! Fantastic! Spectacular! Celebrate that because every piece of feedback you gain from every attempt is getting you one step closer to what you want for yourself. Every single time you try and hit a dead end, it’s progress—not failure.

So friends, what if instead of fearing failure, we got curious about it? What if we said, Okay, well, that didn’t work. I didn’t know what I didn’t know, but now I know. I have information I didn’t have before, and I’m going to take all of that knowledge and apply it to what I do and where I go next.

This leads me to something I talk about all the time: bankable wins. Every single success you’ve had—no matter how small—is a win you can bank. And these wins don’t expire. You bank them up, and they’re always there for you, ready to be pulled forward when you need a reminder of what you’re capable of.

But here’s the challenge: when we hit a tough spot, we tend to pull forward all the times we feel like we’ve failed. We replay those moments on a loop, letting them weigh us down, defeat us, and define us. Let’s defeat defeat, friends. How about instead of throwing ourselves a pity party over all the things that didn’t work out, we instead pull forward all the times that things did?

We pull forward our bankable wins that are as readily available to us as our fretted-over failures. What if we reminded ourselves, I’ve hit dead ends before and figured my way out of those. I can for sure figure this out, too.

Here’s what I want you to remember: Life is like a maze. It’s full of twists and turns, dead ends, and breakthroughs. But every step you take—every misstep, every pivot, every win—they’re all shaping you and preparing you for what’s next.

Your bankable wins are proof of your resilience. So when you hit a tough spot, pull forward those wins and remind yourself: I’ve faced challenges before and figured them out. I can do it again. Sure, I’ve hit a dead end, but it’s not a failure—it’s feedback. I believe in my ability to take all that I’ve learned and use it to guide my path forward.

Because as we learned last week: Where focus goes, energy flows. When you focus on growth, resilience, and your bankable wins, you create a life filled with momentum, possibility, and fun.

This week, I challenge you: Celebrate the twists and turns of your own journey. Look for the lessons in those challenges, bank up all the wins, and keep yourself moving forward. The maze of life isn’t about getting it right every time. It’s about finding joy in the twists, power in the pivots, and confidence in your ability to keep going.

Friends, the words we see and read, the words we hear, and the words we say to ourselves about ourselves—what we’re doing and how we’re doing it—they all matter.

Your WORDS MATTER, because YOU MATTER.

I’ll see you next week for the final episode in this FOCUS series, where we’ll uncover the difference between happiness and joy and explore how both are found in the journey—not just the destination. Until then, have a great day.