Thomas edison tried two thousand different materials in search of a filament for the light bulb. When none worked satisfactorily, his assistant complained, "All our work is in vain. we have learned nothing, not sure if we can use an electricity properly."Edison replied very confidently, "Oh, we have come a long way and we have learned a lot. we know that there are two thousand elements which we cannot use to make a good light bulb." 
We can also learn from our mistakes. 