Music is also a powerful antidote to the harsh wounds of failure. Music strengthens you as you pick yourself off the floor and forge new ways forward. Music is a resurrecting tailwind that helps you sail through the headwinds of life’s failures. Music helps catalyze the endorphins of your spirit that emerge to carry you through hard times. So you can let them make you. 

As I’ve confronted each instance of failure that has struck me and labored to extract value from each one’s distinct taste of pain, music was always there for me. There was always a critical set of songs undergirding my bootstrapped strength. Sometimes it was the song in its totality that represented the sonic strength I would harness to drive me forward. Other times it would be very specific lyrical phrases that precisely offered the visceral messages I needed to help me transcend circumstances and see the light of my next best step. 

As you trigger failure, inadvertently fall into it, or slowly find yourself surrounded by it, remember the power of music. Remember the transformative energy of music’s powerful poetry. Build a soundtrack to aid you in your triumph over and recovery from failure’s thrashings. 

I attached myself to many vital songs to help me metabolize and conquer failure over the years. The soundtrack below includes specific songs that augmented my writing of Failure Rules!. These are the sounds of failure. These are the sounds of hard times. These are the sounds of holding it down. These are the sounds of overcoming. These are the sounds that helped me rule.