" 22. Commit To ‘Fail’

Failure teaches us so much about ourselves, and about life, that we should welcome it. This might sound odd, but it’s only when you are prepared to embrace failure that you can truly set yourself up for success.

You see, nothing worthwhile is ever easy. Every time you try and do something new, or something difficult, or unusual, you are absolutely going to get doors closed in your face, friends mocking you and phones slammed down on you.

Rejection and disappointment is going to come at you from all angles.

One way or another, you need to find a way to cope with that failure. I do it by seeing failure as a stepping stone on the path to where I want to go. Every time I fail, I take comfort in knowing I’m closer to my goal.

I remember hearing the story of a father telling his kid that in order to succeed, he first had to go out and fail 22 times - only when he had done that would they discuss success again.

Now, I’m not sure why he said 22 times exactly, but the attitude is wonderfully counter-society. The father knew that if his son failed 22 times, then along the way he was inevitably bound, at some point, to succeed.

Fail your way to success. Embrace it. All of those 22 opportunities to succeed.

We live in a world where dream-stealers tell us to be scared to dare greatly, because of the chance of failure and the level of risk. But all great adventures have risk and a chance of failure. That’s the whole point - otherwise it isn’t an adventure!

So get out there and get busy ‘failing’… "

― Bear Grylls , A Survival Guide for Life: How to Achieve Your Goals, Thrive in Adversity, and Grow in Character