The Courage to Fail

Let me tell you a secret “there’s no such thing as failure.”

Failure is a myth. Sometimes we win and sometimes we learn. And if you learn you win. So we never fail so long as we get the learning. And we can always get the learning if we look hard enough. So we’re always winning as long as we’re playing.  

Failure, therefore, is not the opposite of success. It is the engine room of success.

We step ‘into the arena’ with the knowledge that we will always step back out with things we would like to do better next time. It’s not where we are but where we’re headed that most matters. So, we need to flip these things we’ve called failures into learnings and set about the business of being better than our last performance.

And remember…

Walt Disney was fired for having no imagination.

Harry Potter was rejected by 12 publishers.

Albert Einstein had far more failures than successes

And Babe Ruth, one of the best baseballers of all time held two records simultaneously – the most home runs and the most ‘strike-outs’. That’s what happens when you swing for the fences.

Sometimes, you hit and sometimes you miss.  

So, when you’re in front of the camera or on stage or trying to drill a new skill, remember the most dangerous thing you can do, is play it safe. Push yourself, take some risks. Try new things. Move out of your comfort zone. If you’re risking enough, you’re probably feeling a bit uncomfortable.

(Oh BTW - I’m not recommending recklessness because recklessness has no care attached to it. I’m advocating that you care so much about your growth, that you are prepared to risk stretching beyond your current abilities.

I’m saying that if you don’t risk falling, you can’t possibly learn to fly. 

And when people ask you how you did it (whatever “It” is) you will tell a story of all the failures you had to become a success.

So, don’t be afraid of failure! It’s the only way to succeed!

Andrew “Failing Forward” Wright