Failure is an option and can be learned from

By Dennis Lowery

There’s a lot of emphasis on trying to accelerate the path to success by spending a ton of time studying the methods of those have succeeded before us in the hope that we’ll be able to avoid many of the mistakes they made. And, there is a certain logic to that.

But, what it doesn’t take into account is the fact that the thing that led them to be able to do what they do is that they, themselves, messed up, over and over and over, and it was that repeated intimate relationship with the mistakes that led to a deep enough understanding of “why” it needed to be done differently that led to their success.

From Make More Bad Stuff by Jonathan Fields via www.jonathanfields.com

I loved this--mostly because I know from personal experience how what Jonathan Fields says is true. You learn the most by being willing to fail.

The thing is that most people look at the unknown or something new--especially something creative and fear rejection--the fear failure. They worry that what turns out won't be what they hope for. So they put it off, they wait for the right time--or worse yet they never do it. They never give it a shot. And that's tragic.

Hemingway said "first drafts are crap"... I've written and ghostwritten several books and helped clients publish another two dozen--and I can tell you for certain. First drafts are awful. But they are a beginning and without a beginning you will surely never get to the end.

All in life is a process of refinement and adjustment.

My personal philosophy is that you have to be willing to fail and to deal with it if that is the outcome and keep moving forward in order to achieve the things you dream of.