Not many people were fans of EllenDeGeneres, that is until her talk show premiered on NBC last September. Before that, she had to deal with the fall out from her publicly declared sexual lifestyle, which soon led to the demise of her sitcom and a dramatic slump in popularity.

This experience alone would stop most people from moving forward and motivate them to crawl into the smallest hole possible where nobody can find them. Not Ellen. She kept plugging along in good humor (being a humorist helped see the light side of the situation) and eventually landed her talk show which dramatically turned her career around. If you have watched her show, you can see she truly is in her element. She uses her amazing wit and improvisational skills that ultimately keeps the attention of the audience and makes for interesting interviews.

Whether or not you are a fan of Ellen DeGeneres, you should at least be impressed with her attitude. Her story is similar to all successful people in history. We all suffer defeats. In fact, we all suffer more defeats than successes in a lifetime. But, it is the successes that we remember most. And it is our failures that get us ready for success. So, don’t hide from anything. As we start the new year, go on and let it all hang out. There is nothing like the sweet smell of success. Just ask Ellen DeGeneres.