Failing.
We all fail sometimes. No one wants to tell you about it. Why?
You failed.
It’s a pretty cold statement. But it’s how you react to it that is important, and telling.
Michael Bloomberg:
On August 1, 1981 - 42 years ago today - I got laid off from the only full-time job I'd ever had, with two months notice. It was embarrassing – none of my friends got fired. It was hurtful - after all the years I had devoted to the firm. It was worrisome – what would I do now? And it was unfair, or at least I thought so. But it also became a turning point in my life. I was 39 at the time and had no idea what the future held. I worked as hard as ever for those next two months, if not harder –– to prove the bosses wrong –– and the morning after my last day, I got to work on an idea that nearly everyone thought was crazy, an idea that became Bloomberg.
Show me a person who has never failed and I will show you a failure of a person. What we learn from failure, and what we do with that knowledge, is what matters –– and it's what makes us who we are.
The Importance of Failure: Embracing Setbacks for Success
Failure is often perceived negatively, but it plays a crucial role in personal and professional growth. Embracing failure can lead to resilience, creativity, and long-term success.
Failure teaches resilience. When faced with setbacks, individuals learn to adapt and persevere. This resilience is vital in overcoming future obstacles, fostering a mindset that views challenges as opportunities for growth. As psychologist Angela Duckworth notes, grit—a combination of passion and perseverance—is a key predictor of success.
Failure fosters creativity and innovation. Many groundbreaking inventions and ideas emerged from initial failures. Thomas Edison, when inventing the light bulb, famously said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." This iterative process of trial and error is essential for innovation.
Failure also provides valuable lessons. Analyzing mistakes helps individuals understand what went wrong and how to improve. This reflective practice enhances problem-solving skills and informs better decision-making in the future. Carol Dweck's research on growth mindset highlights the importance of viewing failure as a learning opportunity rather than a setback .
Failure is a stepping stone. Embrace failure to develop resilience, foster creativity, and learn valuable lessons that lead to future achievements.
“It is better to try something and fail than to try nothing and succeed. The result may be the same, but you won’t be. We always grow more through defeats than victories.”
— Soren Kierkegaard
Hey, here are a whole lot of quotes on failure. Why? Because I know a most excellent ONE subscriber enjoys them. I hope you will, too. :
"Failure isn't fatal, but failure to change might be"
- John Wooden
"Everything you want is on the other side of fear."
- Jack Canfield
“Success is most often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable.”
- Coco Chanel
“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”
- Robert F. Kennedy
“If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.”
- Ken Robinson
“If you don’t try at anything, you can’t fail… it takes back bone to lead the life you want”
- Richard Yates
“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.”
- Denis Waitley
“It's failure that gives you the proper perspective on success.” - Ellen DeGeneres
“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” - Thomas A. Edison
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
- Winston Churchill
“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” - Paulo Coelho
“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”
- Winston Churchill
“We are all failures - at least the best of us are.”
- J.M. Barrie
“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.” - Napoleon Hill
“You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.”
- Johnny Cash
“It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce that counts.”
- Zig Ziglar
“Failure is so important. We speak about success all the time. It is the ability to resist failure or use failure that often leads to greater success. I've met people who don't want to try for fear of failing.” - J.K. Rowling
I love this one —> “No human ever became interesting by not failing. The more you fail and recover and improve, the better you are as a person. Ever meet someone who’s always had everything work out for them with zero struggle? They usually have the depth of a puddle.”
- Chris Hardwick
“When we give ourselves permission to fail, we, at the same time, give ourselves permission to excel.” - Eloise Ristad
“With a hint of good judgment, to fear nothing, not failure or suffering or even death, indicates that you value life the most. You live to the extreme; you push limits; you spend your time building legacies. Those do not die.”
- Criss Jami
"What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable?" - John Green
The most successful business environment, Silicon Valley, accepts failure. Embraces it. Fail faster to succeed sooner.
Change your mindset
One reason leaders don’t lead change is ‘fear of failure.’ For leaders, there are two drivers of fear:
Imposter syndrome: you are waiting for people to figure out who you really are, and that you really are not up for the job
Greatness syndrome: you fear your brilliance and talent
In both, there is a real risk that in playing big, you screw things up. And that screw up will be costly.
Be really open to criticism
Realize that you are not “all seeing” and “all knowing”.
Netflix founder Reed Hastings nearly sank his company in 2011 with a poor decision to split it in two to launch Qwikster. Ever heard of it? Me neither. From this near calamitous point, Hastings vowed that from that point on he would farm for dissent, meaning he would require people to speak out against policies and decisions. This is an engrained part of the culture at Netflix. I know this to be true as a long-time friend working at a Netflix-owned companies has recounted this approach.
How a leader reacts to criticism largely determines whether openness really exists in their organization.
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EmployeeONE - The course for everyone with a job.
What is it? It’s all the stuff you don’t learn at school and what you really need to understand and thrive in the working world. A course in three parts:
PART I - You - how you work
PART II - The World - how the (business) world works
PART III - You in the World - how you ought to work in the world
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Questions and more information?
ONE more thing
try
fail
try again
If failing builds character, then this explains my great character :-)
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: : Uplifting : : I am a little surprised this posting did not draw as much attention as I'd expected. Granted the topic not happy, progressive or self-rewarding. It comes across as the "opposite of positive". But, I felt, I expected it to resonate with readers. A curiosity. It's something we've all experienced In fact there are many uplifting messages here. Oodles of supportive, inspiring quotes. Take a look. and don't -fail- to share and comment.