Let's start failing!

I failed like most people. I fail all the time. I have failures in relationships. I have failures in life. I used to wonder why this happened. I used to play poor me and suffer from the dreaded disease of victim.

Now I get it! I have been stumbling towards 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"

We can't win without leaving our safety zone and taking some calculated risks. No risk, no reward. And more risks we take in the pursuit of our dreams, the more we are going to fail. Thats for sure.

Too many among us live in what I call the safe harbour of the known. Same breakfast for 20 years. Same drive to work for 20 years. Same conversation for 20 years. Same thinking for 20 years. I have no judgement on that kind of life. If it makes you happy, that's great. But I don't know of anyone who is happy living that.

If you keep doing what you have been doing, you will keep getting what you have been getting. Einstein defined insanity as doing the same things over and again 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 visit.

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 the 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 on you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did."

So go ahead, stretch today. Ask for the best table in your favourite resturant. Ask for an upgrade to first class on your next flight. Ask your teammate at work for more understanding. Ask you 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!