Failure or stepping stones?

Failure is bad, or so we've been told. But if we look at what failure means according to its definition we find: lack of success. Funny is it not... much like darkness is the absence of light and cooled is the absence of heat failure is the absence of success. But according to that logic failure is not actually a reality, just the lack of a certain reality we wished to see. So this question needs to be asked... is there really failing or just stepping stones to a place we didn't envision in our minds?