Don’t Be Afraid To Fail
Failure is a great teacher.
I remember starting out in the business world hoping to God I would not fail. I did not want to feel that sense of embarrassment or have that stigma of failure tied to my name. Looking back at my first business decision, I have to chuckle at how naïve I was.
If you think about the road to success, it is lined with failure. I mean there is no way possible you can be successful without first failing. Not only is failing a great teacher, it usually comes with adversity - the first cousin of failure.
Think about this. Without winter would you truly appreciate the summer? Absolutely not. If you grew up in the Northeast like I did, every March you would get one or two days of 70 degree weather and think how great it is that summer was on its way. Not only that, you were thankful not to have to endure another four months of dark, cold days looking at gray skies.
You’re going to have those dark cold days on your way to success, that much I can guarantee. You’re going to have people telling you cannot do what you’re striving so hard to do and that you should just stop and cut your losses. You must press on. Don’t be afraid to fail. Like Thomas Edison said, “I haven’t failed; I’ve just found 10,000 ways that didn’t work.” This statement was made as Edison was asked about all the failures he had on his way to inventing the light bulb.
You have to understand this basic philosophy that all champions have: If you want to be successful you must learn how to fail. You must take the lessons you learned from the failures and use them to your advantage. In my opinion, there is no shame in failing. The real shame is if you do not take that wisdom you learned from your mistakes and apply it on your next try.
I remember seeing a quote from Donald Trump one time when he was asked about a few of his companies failing. Donald said (I’m paraphrasing) “True, but I also have other business ventures that are very successful.” He was less concerned about a few failed business entities and more optimistic about how great his thriving companies were performing. Do you see the difference in that type of mindset?
Step out in faith and dare to be great. If you sit around waiting for the perfect time and the perfect plan you will never get started. It’s better to get going on a not so great plan, than to not try anything because you are afraid of failing.
Sam Crowley
