I fail more than most people. I fail all the time. I’ve had failures in business. I’ve had failures in relationships.
I’ve had failures in life. I used to wonder why this happened. I used to play Poor Me and suffer from the
dreaded disease of victimitis infinitus. But now I get it. I’ve been stumbling toward my best life. Failure is the
price of greatness. Failure is an essential ingredient for a high achievement. As innovation guru David
Kelley wrote: “Fail faster. Succeed sooner.” You can’t win without leaving your safety zone and taking some
calculated risks. No risk, no reward. And the more risks you take in the pursuit of your dreams, the more
you are going to fail.
Too many among us live in what I call the safe harbor of the known. Same breakfast for 20 years.
Same drive to work for 20 years. Same conversations for 20 years. Same thinking for 20 years. I have no
judgment on that kind of a life. If it makes you happy, well, that’s great. But I don’t know of anyone who is
happy living like that. If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’ll keep getting what you’ve been
getting. Einstein defined insanity as doing the same things but expecting different results. Yet most people
rule their lives that way. True joy comes when you put some skin in the game and take some chances. Yes,
you will start to experience more failure. But guess what? Success also starts to pay more visits.
Failure is just part of the process of getting to world class. “Screw – ups are the mark of
excellence,” said management consultant Tom Peters. The best companies on the planet have failed more
than the average ones. The most successful people on the planet have failed more than ordinary ones. To
me, the only failure is the failure to try and dream and dare. The real risk lies in riskless living. Mark Twain
made the point perfectly when he observed: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the
things you didn’t do than by the ones you did.”
The real risk likes in riskless living.
So go ahead, stretch today. Ask for the best table in your favorite restaurant. Ask for an upgrade to
first class on your next flight (good luck). Ask your teammate at work for more understanding. Ask your
sweetheart at home for more love. Do it. I dare you. And remember, you can’t win a game that you don’t
even play.
8.
Be into Breezes