I did everything I possibly could to get the job.

I had been through 3 interviews, all of which went well. My audition was well received. And I was told that I had made the short list. A veteran of the radio business, this was my chance to become a TV anchor.

I wanted the position so badly, I could taste victory.

Finally, the day arrived when I would learn the result.

I lost.

My confidence shattered, I spent the next few months in a state of depression – so obvious and self-destructive that I then lost the job I did have.

But what I had not realized at the time was that my apparent misfortune would lead me down a different path which would ultimately take me to the city where I met my wife, raised my daughter and started my business.

Losing, you see, became a good thing.

Such was also the case with actress Meryl Streep who confessed in a recent interview that she lost the leading lady role in the movie King Kong in 1976 to Jessica Lange because she was told she was ugly.

Streep, unknown at the time, recalls the demoralizing experience in this 2-minute interview clip:

It would be just 2 years later that the now 66-year old Streep would capture the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Deer Hunter. This “loser” would move on to obtain more Oscar nominations than any other actor or actress in the movie business.

Streep’s philosophy when it comes to losing is to just keep on going. Like all of us, she has lost confidence after losing roles, saying “I always feel like I can’t do it, that I can’t go through with a movie role. But then I do go through with it after all.”

Streep feels the fear and does it anyway.

And with every “loss” has come learning, growth and a plethora of new opportunities.

Losing can be winning.

In 2006, Katherine McPhee was the runner-up in the American Idol contest, losing to competitor Taylor Hicks.

But McPhee’s so-called “loss” resulted in a series of movie and TV roles. And, despite having lost American Idol, Forbes magazine reported in 2013 that she was in the 10 top-earning American Idols that year.

When we lose a job application, a sale, or any role in life to which we aspire – something better is waiting for us around the corner.

With each loss, comes a new beginning.

As I look back at all the losses of my life, I give thanks.

Because had I succeeded, I would not have the good life I have today.

If you don’t get that job or opportunity you wanted, it was not meant to be.

Something much better is waiting for you.

About the top photo: The year was 1983. Jessica Lange, on the left, won an Oscar for her role opposite Dustin Hoffman in the movie Tootsie. Meryl Streep won for Best Actress for her role in “Sophie’s Choice.”