Every failure-even the worst ones-helps us learned to do things differently in the future. I learned how not to climb the first four times I tried to summit Everest, says mountaineer Pete Athens, who has now reached the world's highest peak seven times. Failure gives you a chance to refine your approach. You're taking risks more and more intelligently. In Athens'case, his setbacks taught him that it was important to choose a less challenging route for his first climb up Everest. Learning from past mistakes animating changes helped him to reach the top successfully.