A state Governor was asked to give the nomination speech for Michael S. Dukakis at the 1988 Democratic Convention. The speech went on and on. By the time it was over, the Governor knew he’d bombed. After all, the audience was chanting, “Get off, get off.”

“Had I been him,” said advisor Samuel Berger, “I would have dug the deepenst hole and buried myself in it.” Instead, the Governor marched straight into the press room to face a barrage of embarrassing questions. When Johny Carson invited him on the ‘Tonight’ Show, the Governor went, letting Carson poke fun at him. “Instead of running away from the problem,” noted Berger, “he faced it”.

How we deal with failure reveals what we’re really made of. Governor Bill Clinton faced his failure, and pressed through to his own success as President of the United States. Diffuse your own Bombs before they kill you.

Tags: Clinton, failure, overcomer, recovery, trials, trouble