Maxwell Leadership Podcast – Episode 400: How to Use Failure for Success

Release Date: February 25, 2026
Host: John Maxwell (with Mark Cole)
Theme: Transforming failure into a powerful lever for personal and leadership growth

Episode Overview

This celebratory 400th episode of the Maxwell Leadership Podcast centers on a critical but often misunderstood component of leadership: failure. John Maxwell, joined by Mark Cole, marks the milestone by announcing his upcoming book, How to Get a Return on Failure, and sharing deep insights into how leaders can reframe, respond to, and ultimately benefit from their failures. Throughout, they acknowledge the podcast’s global impact and share listener stories that underscore transformational leadership in action.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Celebrating 400 Episodes and the Podcast Community

• Remarkable Impact:
  Mark notes the podcast’s journey:

  • 400 episodes, 45+ million downloads, over 300,000 YouTube subscribers, 400,000 followers on Apple and Spotify
  • Reiterate mission: “We exist to add value to leaders who multiply value to others.” (01:00)

• Listener Spotlights:

  • Personal accounts from Jenna (city administrator, Minnesota), Damian (leadership transformation), and Chris (Special Forces commander) highlight the real-world influence of Maxwell’s teachings.

Why Write About Failure?

[07:29]

• Universal Experience:

  • “We all fail. It’s not the failure itself that makes me or breaks me. It’s how I respond to that failure. How we view things is how we do things.” – John Maxwell (07:30)

• Maxwell’s Ongoing Exploration:

  • This is his third book on failure, after Failing Forward and Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn—underscoring the subject’s constant relevance to leaders.

Good Miss vs. Bad Miss

[08:53]

• Concept: Not all failures are equal; “misses” can be good or bad.
  • Good Miss (Failing Forward): You learn, self-reflect, make adjustments, and do not blame others.
  • Bad Miss (Failing Backward): You blame, make excuses, do not learn, and distance yourself from the failure.
  • “You can go from failure to success, but you can’t go from excuses to success.” – John Maxwell (10:08)

The Cycle of Success

[12:51]

Six Stages:

1. Test: Constant experimentation—most avoid this stage and thus avoid growth.
2. Fail: A necessary byproduct of genuine testing.
3. Evaluate: The crucial step of assessing what went wrong.
4. Learn: True learning only comes from evaluated experience.
5. Improve: Implementing changes derived from lessons learned.
6. Re-Enter: Returning to the cycle at a higher level.

• “You have to test a lot to learn a lot. You have to test quickly to learn quickly. Your learning is just a response of your testing, failing, and evaluating.” – John Maxwell (15:44)

Where People Get Stuck:
Most don’t “get bogged down”—they never truly start because they fear testing and failing in the first place.

Getting Over Failure – and Ourselves

[18:35]

• Self-Awareness:

  • Leaders allow failure to define them because they don’t embrace self-awareness or reflection.
  • “Almost everything we have learned that helps us doesn’t come out of our success, but it comes out of our failures.” – John Maxwell (19:10)

• Learning through Adversity:
  Reflecting on conversations with top performers like Jack Nicklaus—what matters is not the misstep, but what you learn from it.

Keeping Success and Failure Together

[22:16]

• Balance:

  • “You need to keep success and failure together, because together, they make each other better.” (22:42)
  • During failure, recall past successes to cultivate resiliency; during success, recall past failures to maintain humility.
  • “Avoid creates a void. And all of a sudden we’re no longer in the game.” (25:40)

• Excellence vs. Embracing Failure:

  • Embracing failure doesn’t mean lowering standards; it means responding well to mistakes, not compounding them or avoiding growth.

The Reality: Hard Never Ends

[27:47]

• Uphill Journey:

  • The expectation of an “easy plateau” after hard work is a fallacy; new levels of success bring new, harder challenges.
  • “The reward for doing something hard is…if you do it really well, you get to do something harder next time.” – John Maxwell (28:36)

• Respect is Earned:

  • “Respect is earned on difficult ground. If I have your respect as a leader, it’s because you’ve seen me do something that was very challenging, stayed the course.” (29:03)

Repeated Lessons about Failure from the World’s Top Leaders

[31:02]

• Key Learning:
  • Failure “awakens” leaders and breaks complacency.
  • Asking “What went wrong?” leads to true growth; not reflecting means repeating mistakes.

Advice for Leaders Tempted to Quit

[32:49]

• Universal Feeling:

  • “Everybody at times wants to quit… but here’s what I know: no one has ever quit their way to the top.” – John Maxwell (33:19)

• Returning to Purpose:

  • When tempted to quit, “go back to why you got started.” Purpose rekindles perseverance.

Closing Reflections and Practical Application

[37:07]

• Empowering the Next Generation:

  • John advises parents and leaders to share these lessons and “put this book in their [children’s] hands” to help them handle failure early. (37:49)

• Team Growth:

  • Read and discuss the book as a team or community for collective advancement.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It’s not the failure itself that makes me or breaks me. It’s how I respond to that failure. How we view things is how we do things.” — John Maxwell (07:33)
• “You can go from failure to success, but you can’t go from excuses to success.” — John Maxwell (10:11)
• “You have to test a lot to learn a lot. You have to test quickly to learn quickly.” — John Maxwell (15:44)
• “Avoid creates a void. And all of a sudden we’re no longer in the game.” — John Maxwell (25:40)
• “The reward for doing something hard is if you do it really well, you get to do something harder next time.” — John Maxwell (28:36)
• “No one has ever quit their way to the top.” — John Maxwell (33:19)

Key Timestamps

• 00:00–04:51: Podcast milestones, listener impact, announcement of John Maxwell’s 94th book
• 07:29–12:51: Why write about failure; good miss vs. bad miss; personal anecdotes
• 12:51–17:17: The cycle of success and where people get stuck
• 18:35–20:16: Getting over failure and the role of self-awareness
• 22:16–27:47: Keeping success and failure in balance; excellence and embracing failure
• 27:47–31:02: “Hard never ends”; embracing continual challenge in leadership
• 31:02–32:49: Lessons about failure from top leaders and learning lunches
• 32:49–34:31: What to do when you want to quit—returning to your original purpose
• 37:07–38:43: Final reflections, advice for parents and teams, call to action

Takeaways for Leaders

• Failure is inevitable, but your response—choosing to evaluate, learn, and improve—is what defines your legacy.
• View failure as an asset, not a liability; the best leaders are those who reflect on their setbacks and build upon them.
• True growth (as a person, leader, or team) is cyclical—test, fail, learn, improve, and repeat.
• Success and failure are partners in your development—keep them close.
• Don’t quit; remember your why, and let it pull you through hard seasons.

For ordering John’s upcoming book and exclusive podcast resources: maxwellpodcast.com/400

“We can overcome—lead well, because everyone deserves to be led well.” – Mark Cole (38:38)