Failures aren't failures, they're fuel

Ever feel like you're on a roll...

with failures?

Like you're "in the zone"...

with rejections?

Like they're becoming your special area of expertise?

Then you're in luck, and not just because you can keep me company down here. Failure's good.

Didn't feel good today, though.

Twice.

When I read that feedback this morning.

And when that phone call didn't come this afternoon.

Didn't feel good two weeks ago when I realized how far behind I was.

Or a few weeks ago when that show didn't go so well.

Oh, and don't forget all of the micro-failures interspersed in among the bigger, more noticeable ones.

The accumulated effect can be bad, if you let it--if you brood on it, let it get inside of you, let it define who you are.

That was me today.

But then I remembered, "Failure is a by-product of pushing the envelope."

Just one of the awesome lines in probably the most important video I've ever watched: Honda on failure.

I'm tempted to quote the whole thing right here--it's that powerful.

And then I think of Elon Musk and SpaceX and their hard-core, bring-it-on attitude about their failed rocket landings, and the title to Katie Palmer's article on their latest try: "Look it's hard to land a rocket on a boat, OK?"

After all, Palmer, writes, "Today’s failure is still another step toward the ultimate goal of landing, and then reusing, rockets for SpaceX’s space delivery service."


In short, failures aren't failures at all. Each one is a barrier we're breaking through.

And not just that. They can be more than that. They can be fuel. We can feed off of them, knowing they're making us stronger--knowing they mean we're pushing the envelope, and confident that it's moving outward, maybe imperceptibly, but still moving, and who knows when it will blow wide open.