There is No Impact Without Failure

During yesterday’s keynote address at a high school FBLA conference, I stressed the importance of failing. We live in a culture that tells us to avoid failure. Even parents protect their children from failing these days. Not only do I dislike this mindset, but I actually think we should pursue failure. In my talk, I shared two primary reasons why failure is important on our journey:

1. There’s nothing worth doing that doesn’t involve the risk of failing. I jokingly mentioned there was still a chance I would botch my talk and completely humiliate myself. However, there was one surefire way I could have avoided the risk of failure. I could have simply stayed home, which would be much safer and ensured nothing bad could have happened to me. On the flip side, staying home also meant I had a zero percent chance of making an impact. You can’t have one without the other.

2. When we fail, we learn. Failing is never fun, but it stretches us and helps us grow. When we put ourselves in uncomfortable situations and force ourselves to figure it out, we will absolutely fail from time to time. Simultaneously, we’ll also learn, adapt, and stretch ourselves. That’s exactly why something that may be uncomfortable at first eventually becomes comfortable. In the absence of failure, there’s an absence of growth.

I’ll leave you with the wise words of the GOAT, Mr. Air Jordan. “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. And 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed.”

“Are You Comfortable?”

As I was on my way to a board meeting yesterday, I received a call from our Media Director, Rebekah. It was just a typical chat about a number of items on our plate, but she introduced the idea of me appearing on a fairly popular TV program. I think she could tell the other end of the phone seemed a bit too silent, so she asked the question, “Are you comfortable with that?”

My answer: “No, I’m not. Which is why we should do it.”

I believe comfort is a trap. It lulls us into complacency and provides an artificial feeling of security, sucking meaning out of our lives. Truth is, I’ll be utterly terrified if Rebekah ends up nailing down this (or any) TV appearance for us.

Anything can make us uncomfortable…..until we do it. The first time I recorded a podcast episode I was scared out of my mind. After a few episodes, it just felt like part of my life. The first time I spoke on stage in front of a few hundred people, I vomited in a trash can backstage. A few dozen talks later, it became one of my favorite things in the world.

One last thought about comfort. We don’t need to take extreme measures to push ourselves out of our comfort zone. Small steps can take us a long way. If we’re scared of heights, we don’t need to jump out of a plane. Maybe a good first step is to spend a few minutes on the balcony of a 10th floor residential unit. Just one small step at a time, then another.

As you venture into your day, ask yourself where you’ve become too comfortable…..then take a small step to get just outside that zone. It’s scary, but worth it!