Are things happening for you or to you?

Okay, this question is not original. It's a statement that Martha Beck once told Pamela Slim, " Someday, day you will see that this was being done for you not to you."

Yet, it got me thinking about my own situation. I've had several failed business ventures. Yes, I said it -- failed. The first one was in the third grade. I was caught by my teacher selling candy from my cubby. It was a great business. I offered all of the premium candies at reasonable prices (25 to 50 cents) before, during and after school. My closet competitor was the school cafeteria, but they were only open at lunch, lacked selection and priced 2x as high. I had the market cornered. Then, I got caught. At the time, I didn't understand what was so wrong. We provided a service that people wanted and were willing to pay to obtain. After all, we didn't force them to hand over their allowances. Nonetheless, we violated school policies. This was my first lesson in business: know thy rules and play within them.

Failure is a concept often ignored in business school and glossed over in startup books. Writers often assume that you are inheriting other people's problems (HBS Cases, anyone?) or that it simply won't occur because everyone will love your product, purchase on site with no questions asked. But failure does and will occur. The true question is: How will you react?

In this discussion thread, I'd like you to share with the community the business lessons you've learned from failure?