"If your great idea/invention worked perfectly the first time, I'm going to pay attention to and support somebody else! Failure is an awesome opportunity for you to become an expert at what you do."
I know, I know. To say that failure is not so bad makes me sound like the mom of the football player who ran 90 yards in the opposite direction, scoring a safety for the other team. Or the mom of the girl who places third in the beauty pageant. Okay, Charlie Brown, but really, it's true. Steve Jobs is heralded as one of the greatest inventors of our time, but also one of the most difficult personalities to understand or get along with. He is credited for inventing some of the greatest "stuff" this generation has ever seen, but you'd be a fool to think that he only failed once, or never at all. Let's take a look at some of the other noted "failures before successes" of our time, and in our history (and not necessarily in chronological order. It's too early in the morning for that, so bear with me):
George Washington lost all of his battles as a general in The Seven Years War. Unfortunately for Sir Cloudesley of the Scilly Naval Disaster, his failure proved the sailing master of the HMS Lennox right, resulting in the improvement of naval navigational systems. Albert Einstein failed in school before his genius was discovered. Halle Berry and Steve Harvey were both homeless. Jerry Springer ran for Illinois State Senate. Bill Clinton was up for impeachment. Barack Obama was pulverized in a race for a political seat in the state of Illinois. And for any Obama haters out there--George W. Bush. That's all I'm going to say about that.
Michael Jordan was cut from his basketball team. Prince got booed off the stage. Beyoncé is celebrated by many as a great singer...(ouch). Anyway...
The point is that true greatness begins with failure. Then failure again. And again. But failure is not as awful as it feels. It is truly necessary. Without failure, the food you eat would make you sick or even kill you. Someone had to test it out first. That's, unfortunately for some poor soul, how we know not to eat certain berries from certain bushes, vines or trees in the wilderness. Skin products, hair products, fabrics for clothing, materials for shoes, financial investments, and hell, even certain parts of town, were tested out first by someone or some group of people whose failed efforts let us know whether or not those things were good for us! Heaven forbid we drive cars that have not been tested for success or failure. Or ride in planes, boats or trains. Imagine a traffic light being placed on a busy thoroughfare that has not been tested and flashes green on all sides. How about air traffic with no control? Okay. Let's not imagine that. That's way too morbid.
Don't get me wrong. Failure hurts like hell, but somebody's gotta do it or we won't grow as a society. Truth be told, failure feels like a visit from a happy devil on an already 120 degree day. I know. I've been there a few times myself. I'm starting to call failure "my old friend." (But damn, I wish that friend would lose my address!) So, I'm not speaking from inexperience. Fortunately for me, I survived them all so far, and am doing quite well, thank you. I could speak on this subject all day long, but Chinese Philosopher, I Ching, stated it best: "Before being used for greatness, one must appear a fool before a crowd."
Don't let failure stop you from making awesome investments in your life and great contributions to society, because it is truly the main ingredient for success, as well as happiness! Happy birthday, Kitty Cat. Here's your blog!!!!
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