To learn to succeed we must first learn to fail -Michael Jordan Failure is often looked down upon as unfortunate and unwanted. The emotions associated with failure are typically disappointment, shame or anger. But if people viewed failure as a step to success and a learning opportunity then they would end up being much more successful in the end. Thomas Watson Sr., the original Chairman and CEO of IBM, once said “The fastest way to succeed is to double your failure rate.” I sincerely believe that. On the road to success you must experiment a lot and this means that you will fail often and fail a lot before you can succeed. In fact, in work and in life, failure is an absolutely essential ingredient for success. Even in the world of relationships. How many dates does the average person go on before they meet the right person for them? How many failures do they have? Fail Fast Thomas Edison famously designed more than 1,000 light bulbs before finding one that worked. As he was doing so, the public and scientific community regarded his oddity of an experiment as a grand failure. In fact, upon his successful invention of the light bulb, a reporter asked him, “How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?” “I didn’t fail 1,000 times,” Edison answered. “The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.” That is the right attitude. Each ostensible ‘failure’ is a learning experience, a baby step you have to take in order to reach your desired destination. Don’t be afraid to chase your dreams, pursue the career you want or get the education youve dreamed of having – don’t be afraid to fail or you may never achieve your true potential. Taking a leap to try something new is still a success even if you stumble on your way to reaching your desired outcome. Edison certainly “failed” over a thousand times and look what he achieved. Go create new paths, learn something new and you just might discover something valuable you otherwise might not have tried before. Is it a new education or a new career youve wanted? If you dont make a solid commitment to pursuing it how will you know what it could have been? What Jim Collins Learned at West Point I am a big fan of Jim Collins who is the best-selling business book author of books such as “Good to Great” or “Built to Last.” I recently read in Inc. Magazine that Jim Collins was on a two-year appointment on the campus of the United States Military Academy at West Point and he noted that life at West Point was extremely tough, with a demanding regimen governing almost every aspect of the cadets’ lives. Moreover, he noticed that cadets were regularly “failing” at their tasks. Collins learned greatly from this experience on what makes West Point graduates so successful as this exchange proves: “Let’s talk about failure,” Collins said. “How many of you have experienced failure?” “Failure is a part of life here,” said a diminutive female cadet, Kiley Hunkler. “There’s a recurring sense of inadequacy.” “From the outside, it looks like everything here is difficult. You keep getting decked. So why do you keep getting back up?” Collins asked the group. “It’s better to fail here and have other people help you get it right than to fail in Afghanistan, where the consequences could be catastrophic,” said another cadet, Christer Horstman. “Here, everybody knows it’s a learning experience,” said Hunkler. Learn From Your Failures Aspiring to fail might seem like a strange mindset to adopt – why would we willingly strive to fail? The key is to build a culture of experimentation where failing is acceptable and is viewed learning experience. Does it matter if something doesn’t work as you thought it would this time around? Of course not. You at least took that step and lived life in a bigger way and experienced more. You are now one step closer to discovering what really works for you. Of course, the right training and education can always help reduce the amount of times we fall and at CareerConnection101 we are here to help you realize your dreams. Its not how many times weve stumbled in life, its how many times we pick ourselves up, and with every step forward we must be confident we are closer to creating the lives we want. Live life big and pursure your dreams with the education you deserve today! Career Connection 101
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 01:59:36 +0000
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