Have you had a decision flop recently?

I definitely have—especially when it comes to finances. Just when I thought I might have to throw in the towel, I learned something that changed everything. I discovered the truth about failure—and now, I’m more passionate than ever about helping people prosper, even after major setbacks.

It all started in May 2007, when my five-year-old came running into the house yelling, “Mom, Bethany’s lips are blue!!!”

I heard the panic in his voice from upstairs in my office and went completely numb. I’m not sure my feet even touched the floor as I flew down the stairs and out the back door, focused on one thing: seeing my three-year-old (pictured above) okay.

My seven-year-old had found her floating face-down in the deep end of the pool. He had pulled her out by himself and stood beside her, waiting—hoping I could make everything right.

She was lifeless. Lips blue. No heartbeat. Not breathing. My nine-year-old daughter stood nearby, crying. I screamed at her to call 911. She froze, stunned by the weight of it all. “Call 911! CALL 911!!!” I yelled again and again until she finally bolted inside.

I had failed to protect my daughter. I had taught her to swim, but that day, I hadn’t been watchful enough.

My instincts kicked in. I flipped Bethany over my knee, upside down, and patted her back—something I’d done a hundred times when one of my babies struggled to breathe. But she wasn’t choking. It didn’t work. Strike two. I failed again. I meant to help—but I made the wrong move.

Desperate, I flipped her back over, letting her head hit the deck too hard in the process. Strike three. I hurt her trying to help. Another mistake, another failure.

If she’d been conscious, she might’ve cried out about her head. But she didn’t. And oh, how I would’ve rejoiced to hear her complain.

All I knew was that her brain needed oxygen. But I hadn’t had CPR training since 1991. In that moment, I couldn’t remember a single step. I gave her a breath, but it rushed right back out of her nose. Another failure.

But that failure reminded me—plug her nose.

The next breath, I did. Her chest rose. Still, I knew it wasn’t her chest that needed the air—it was her brain. So I gave a few chest compressions, then another breath. A few more compressions… and then, she began to revive.

She spent the night in the hospital and, gratefully, made a full recovery.

There were lessons, of course. The obvious one: be more watchful. But a deeper truth settled in, too—how little material things matter when your family’s on the line.

And months later, while finishing my 12-week home study course in a hotel room, a final insight hit me. Everything—our financial struggles, and this near-tragedy—had happened to teach me something fundamental I’d never really understood before.

I thought back to our failed investments and that moment at the pool. And it clicked:

We all fail. Even with the best intentions, we make mistakes. Nobody achieves meaningful success or lasting prosperity without failure along the way.

What matters most is how we respond to it.

I failed multiple times with my daughter. At least four.

But imagine if I had paused—even for a second—to wallow in those failures. Her life was in danger. Each mistake gave me critical feedback that ultimately helped me save her. If I’d stopped to think, “Poor me…”—I could have lost her.

Failure? It’s just feedback.

And financial mistakes are no different. If you’ve stumbled and are struggling to get back up, remember: your financial future is at stake. Linger too long in regret, or shift blame, and you risk long-term damage. Worse, when we blame others, we give away our power to fix it.

So take a breath. Own where you are. Learn from it. Then get back to building. Prosperity is still within reach. When one door closes, another one always opens—but we can’t see it if we’re still staring at the one that shut.

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