9 Celebrities on Failure
.jpeg)
Failing Up is a series about what happens when we fail. It sucks in the moment, but not every failure is a bad thing. In this installment, see what nine celebrities have said about failure and how to learn from it.
It's easy to forget that our favorite celebrities experience failure. Let's take Beyoncé, for example. She's smart, she's talented, she's beautiful, she's everything. We all love her music, eat up her videos, scream at her concerts. She's so successful that there's even a saying emblazoned on mugs and T-shirts about it: “You have the same amount of hours in a day as Beyoncé.” With Queen Bey literally upheld as a shimmering goddess, it's hard to believe that she's ever failed — but just like any mere mortal (which she allegedly is), she has.
So if our faves can fail and live to tell the tale, so can we. As a bit of inspiration, we've rounded up quotes from nine celebrities on what they've learned from failure.
Getty Images1/9Beyoncé
Though she seems larger than life, Beyoncé is not too big to fail. In a YouTube video explaining the message behind her 2013 self-titled album, Beyoncé said many songs carried a message about success and failure.
“I feel like something about the aggression of 'Bow Down' and the attitude of 'Flawless' — the reality is sometimes you lose. And you're never too good to lose. You're never too big to lose, you're never too smart to lose. It happens,” she said. "And it happens when it needs to happen. And you have to embrace those things."
Getty Images2/9Rihanna
Rihanna keeps failure close to her heart — literally. She has a tattoo on her clavicle reminding her that failure isn't a bad thing.
“You know what’s crazy, I have a tattoo that’s written backward so I can read it in the mirror: ‘Never a failure. Always a lesson,’” Rih said in an interview with T Magazine. “So what you just said is, like, boom! How you gonna learn without making mistakes? Did you believe your mom when she said, ‘Don’t touch the iron’? You had to touch it, right? You had to get burned.”
Getty Images3/9Taylor Swift
No matter how many times we say that all failure is a lesson, it doesn't feel good when you're going through it. While no one expects you to be super happy about your failures, Taylor Swift hit the nail on the head when she said it's about what you do next, rather than how you feel in the moment.
"Fearless is getting back up and fighting for what you want over and over again…even though every time you've tried before you've lost," she said.
Getty Images4/9Issa Rae
For Issa Rae, failure is a comfort. Looking ahead at her upcoming tasks, Issa said during the Create and Cultivate conference that she finds solace in knowing she won't make the same mistakes that lead to failure in the past.
“I can’t go a day without failing,” Issa said. "I think where I thrive is knowing I’m not gonna make that mistake the same way again."
Getty Images5/9Lizzo
Lizzo had been working for years before her career blasted off. At times, she said she felt like giving up.
“The day I released ‘Truth Hurts’ was probably one of the darkest days I’ve had ever in my career. I remember thinking, ‘If I quit music now, nobody would notice. This is my best song ever, and nobody cares,'” Lizzo said. “I was like, ‘F— it, I’m done.’ And a lot of people rallied; my producer, my publicist and my family, they were like, ‘Just keep going because this is the darkest before the dawn.'”
Getty Images6/9Will Smith
Will Smith invoked the power of failing up. Rather than seeing failure as a setback, he said it should be used as an opportunity to move forward.
"Failure actually helps you to recognize the areas where you need to evolve. So fail early, fail often, fail forward,” he said.
Getty Images7/9Awkwafina
Awkwafina had a real “pinch me” moment when she realized she was filming outside a place she had once worked — and got fired from. This totally surreal moment goes to show that feelings of failure don't make you a failure.
“I realized that we were shooting outside of my old office that I got fired from. I'll never forget that night.…I don't think I ever got closure from losing that job,” she said on the Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast. "I felt like a real failure."
Getty Images8/9Kylie Jenner
There's inevitable failure on the way to building a multi-million dollar empire. On New Year's Eve, Kylie Jenner posted on Instagram a reminder to be thankful for all the good and bad parts of life because they've gotten you to where you are.
“Happy New Years Eve. when you start to feel like things should have been better this year remember all the mountains and valleys that got you HERE,” Kylie wrote. “There is more to you than yesterday. 2020 positive vibes ONLY.”
Getty Images9/9Noah Centineo
Success takes time — and for some it takes longer than others. Noah Centineo called success a waiting game, saying it's only failure when you stop trying.
“The ones who usually fail are the ones who give up. It's a waiting game,” he said. "I've been doing it for 14 years.…so 13 and a half years of my life was spent dedicating to something."
.jpeg)
