By Margie Warrell, courage expert, author, speaker, coach and media commentator.

In December 1903, a New York Times editorial questioned the intelligence of the Wright brothers efforts to invent a machine that would fly. “It simply defies the laws of physics,” they argued. One week later, at Kitty Hawk, the Wright Brothers took their famous flight.

If you study history, you will find that all stories of great success are also stories of great triumph over adversity. But often we overlook the setbacks and only see the end success. We think the person got lucky. Or maybe they were just really smart. Or talented. Or well connected. But that’s all bunk. While it may have been a little bit of each, what ultimately led to their success was their refusal to allow their setbacks and failures to define them. Nor anyone else.