The Worst Failures Ever That You Should Know

Failure can be a great teacher if you learn from the vast lectures by it.

Introduction

Mistakes happen, we all know that. But how bad can people mess up? In this blog, I'll share five instances where people messed up so badly that it had a big influence. Do you think you've messed up lately? Think twice because these mistakes may make you reconsider how bad yours are.

Ronald Wayne: A Mistake Worth Billions

Have you regretted making a premature decision?

If so, meet Ronald Wayne, who co-founded and left Apple in its first days.

He founded, alongside Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak Apple but left because he didn't feel like he fit with the company and sold all of his stocks for $800, the price at that time.

He sold the original Apple's founding document for less than $1000, and later it got auctioned for 1.3 million dollars.

Nowadays, we all know how successful and rich Apple founders are.

Fast forward to today, and he manufactures slot machines, lives modestly, and owns zero Apple products.

Petty? Some would say so, but he's been doing well for himself regardless of how rich he could've been if he stayed.

Some would call it a mistake, but he's at peace.

How Will Smith Turned Down Neo

Does doing the same thing lead to nothing every time?

Not really.

Will Smith was tired of taking similar roles and wanted a new acting role.

He wanted to move away from Independence Day and Men In Black.

Eventually, the Wachowski sisters approached him with the most bizarre pitch ever.

They told him to imagine himself jumping and freezing mid-jump, and the audience would get a 360 view of the jump filmed with a new rig camera set up to capture every angle.

After he got the most outlandish pitch for The Matrix, which would feature him as Neo and Val Kilmer as Morpheus, he had to make a choice.

He had to decide on another sci-fi role or the Wild Wild West.

He took the latter, which was a disaster for his career.

In hindsight, he said that The Matrix would've still bombed if he had taken on the role of Neo.

Sometimes making the most outlandish decision is better if you trust the vision.

The Walkie-Talkie Building That's Become A Death Star

Even the most meticulous plans may become a public nuisance.

The 20 Fenchurch Street is a concave-shaped skyscraper in London that resembles a walkie-talkie.

The building's unfortunate positioning makes it a super-sized magnifying glass that's recorded temperatures high enough to melt cars, bicycles, and even nearby stores.

There have been instances where locals return to see their cars' side windows partially melted.

On the other hand, seeing the building turn into a death star has become a tourist attraction.

In addition, you can book an indoor garden tour.

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.

Or when life gives you the sun, redirect to your artificial garden.

How The Panama Canal Was Almost Set Up For Failure For A Second Time

Can we plan better from our previous failures?

Yes, we can, but in the most unusual ways.

In the beginning, The Panama Canal was under construction by the French.

It was a colossal failure that needed to continue.

This came at the cost of diseases, human lives, and even major shifts in the country's geography.

The Americans carried on with their sights somewhere else: Nicaragua.

After various correspondences, he realized that their stamps displayed volcanoes.

It became a key deterrent and positioned Panama as the ideal country to build a canal free from geological hazards.

Even though the Canal faced adversity, the Americans finished what was recklessly started and abandoned with significant consequences.

Conclusion

Failure can be a great teacher if you learn from the vast lectures by it.

At times, failure may seem very personal, but then you remember you could've messed up in the worst ways that could affect the course of the world.

I like to investigate and give myself some perspective to avoid being so hard on the things that didn't go to plan in my life.

I hope you find this week's blog interesting and let me know your thoughts on this topic.

I'll see you in the next blog!