Just as everyone’s idea of success is different, so too is everyone’s path to achieving it. But if you were to speak to a panel of the most successful people in the world they would all tell you one common thing – that the road to success is paved with failures and lessons.

Here are 5 lessons you must learn, according to those who have achieved great success in their lives already, if you want to succeed in life.

1. You have to fail (often many times over) before you can succeed

Think of some of the most successful, well-known people in the world.  Most would not have achieved anywhere near the success they have had in their lives had they succumbed to their (in some cases many) failures. Basketball legend, Michael Jordan summed it up beautifully when he famously said, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games.  26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed.  I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life.  And that is why I succeed.” In other words the most successful people don’t succeed in spite of their failures, they succeed because of them.

2. Money is a reward for adding value

While we all want to make money in order to live a comfortable life, money should never be your major motivation. Instead focus on the value you can bring or the problem you can solve. Google, one of the richest organisations in the world today, has achieved its success and riches because it has over 10 products that solve problems for people. Focus on creating value first and the money will come.

3. Help others first

Life is a game of give and take. Zig Ziglar famously said, “You can get everything you want in life if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” There is genuine power and fulfilment in helping others. It helps you find and fulfil your purpose, which leads to the achievement of your goals.

4. Get used to people disappointing you

This can be a hard lesson for many to learn. But it is the cold hard truth – people will always disappoint you, from friends and partners to clients, staff and colleagues. It’s your attitude to disappointment that counts. Learn to control and manage your relationship with people as this is one of the keys to success in life. In other words, you can’t control how others behave, but you can control how you behave and respond.

5. Define your clarity and purpose – your why

Have you ever noticed how much more focused you are when you are doing something you love? That’s because it aligns with your reason for being here, your why. Finding your passion and purpose in life and being totally clear on that will make success in life so much easier to achieve. If you are in a job or a business that you dislike on the other hand, the reality is, you will never achieve the level of success you want to achieve in life because you won’t be driven to do what’s necessary to get there. Those who identify their purpose and then take the next step to live and breathe that purpose achieve the greatest success in life. This usually involves taking risks, which then takes you back to lesson No 1 – you have to go through the failures before you can succeed.