Fail It Till You Make It: From Rejection to Redemption - A Physician's Journey

🏅 Two-Time GOLD Medal Winner — Global Book Awards
Medical Books Education & Teaching

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“Dr. Mel Ona's story is a powerful reminder that failure is not the end, but the pathway to reinvention. Fail It Till You Make It inspires anyone facing setbacks to embrace resilience and rediscover their true passions.”
— Skip La Cour, #1 Authority Helping Older Men Get Healthy and Fit,
6-Time National Champion Drug-Free Bodybuilder

“Dr. Mel Ona shows us that failure is not the end, but rather part of the process. Hard work and perseverance are essential to any great achievement—and this book is a reminder we all can use.”
— Russell Parvin, MD, Chief of Gastroenterology, Saint Mary’s Hospital (Yale-affiliated)

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What do you do when life keeps knocking you down?

How do you keep going when rejection, burnout, or self-doubt begin to erase who you once were?

In Fail It Till You Make It, physician, musician, entrepreneur, and creative polymath Dr. Mel Ona shares a deeply honest and transformative journey from collapse to reinvention.

Rejected from medical school early in his path, Dr. Ona went on to earn three graduate degrees, become a board-certified gastroenterologist, and emerge as a nationally recognized medical innovator, including establishing the first office-based endoscopy suite in West O‘ahu, Hawai‘i and becoming the first gastroenterologist in Hawai‘i to use AI-assisted polyp detection.

But this book is not about credentials.

It’s about what happens when success alone is no longer enough.

With raw storytelling and practical insight, Dr. Ona reveals how failure, when faced honestly, can become the doorway to clarity, courage, and renewal.

In this book, you’ll discover how to:

• Break free from burnout and emotional exhaustion

• Transform rejection into resilience

• Reclaim neglected or long-forgotten passions

• Rebuild confidence after failure

• Heal emotionally while still pursuing excellence

• Rediscover purpose beyond your job title

• Create a life where success and joy can coexist

• Embrace growth, even when it begins with failure

Fail It Till You Make It is an essential guide for professionals, creatives, and high-achievers who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or quietly disconnected from the life they worked so hard to build.

You don’t need permission to change.
You don’t have to pretend you’re fine.
You don’t have to hide behind your accomplishments.

You can rise—stronger, clearer, and more alive than ever.