Fail Upwards and Fail Better

In General | 16 comments | permalink

A lot of importance is placed on success and being successful, but failures are often as important, perhaps even MORE important. Today I am going to talk about failing, and why it is something you need to get good at.

Getting good at failing sounds like a contradiction, but yes, you can fail and improve at the same time.

We have all seen Tiger Woods hit spectacular shots, but how many bad shots do you think he had to hit to develop the skills to hit that one good shot? Probably millions.

I have always said that “failure” could be easily redefined as “experience”, and I was watching a tv interview recently where a hugely successful newspaper editor and tv correspondent said that he learned to “fail upwards”.

In other words, he kept messing up, kept getting fired etc… but each time he managed to move upwards from it. He took positives from each failure, and used those positives to improve the next time around.

So my advice to you, is to not be afraid of failing, embrace it, but simply learn to fail upwards and fail better each time.

Have a look at how some of the world’s best have failed:

Inspirational stuff!

So all together now… say it with me… fail

fail

fail

There we go… here is to your success…. through failing better and upwards ;-)

Dean

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16 COMMENTS

  • http://www.brandchef.blogspot.com Andrew B. Clark

    Dean –

    Very appropriate Monday post… Thank you.

    Keep Cooking!
    Andrew

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  • http://www.screencastcentral.com Amy Authbert

    Missed one out Dean!

    about to fail

    Amy

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  • http://www.connexted.com/blog/ Craig Dewe

    So true, love the video.

    Here’s my favourite quote on the matter:

    “I have missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot… and missed. And I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why… I succeed.”
    Michael Jordan

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  • http://www.PerrysClickBox.com Paul Perry

    Hi Dean
    No body ever starts to fail?
    No body ever starts at the top,but with
    experience and perseverance it can be achieved.
    Thanks Paul
    http://www.PerrysClickbox.com

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  • http://www.amoremiaafganhounds.com Alan Cox

    Hey Dean,
    Great article as usual, touching video.

    By virtue of all this I should be really successful by now. But the law of averages dictate that it will happen eventually. Eventually being that little spec on the horizon.
    So lets drink to continued upwards failure and may it be short lived.
    Alan

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  • http://www.thehumanmind.co.uk Thomas Gray

    Absoloutely agree with you there Dean.

    Most people become dis-heartened when they fail, because they belive that they can never better that, they can never find what they had again.

    Failing upwards. A truly great phrase.

    My fail history:

    Total money spent on failed things: over 30K

    Total money earned from things that only didn’t fail, because I had the hindsight to remember what went wrong & fix it: Allot

    Next time you feel down in the dumps if a project has failed, or you’ve lost your job? Think about this. Fail once at something, remember that thing. Never let it stop you again.

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  • http://www.payoffyourmortgagein8yearsorless.co.uk Diane

    I love the video Dean!

    My favourite story is from the magnificent Bob Proctor, who tells the tale of the Wright Brothers striving for their first flight,

    “It only lasted 12 seconds, if they had taken off in first class, they would have landed in coach, do you think for one minute they went back and said, Hell it only lasted 12 seconds, no they went back & said WE DID IT! Think there is a difference.”

    Failure in the USA means a learning curve, failure in the UK is like having an anti-social disease – because we have so many World Champions of course!

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  • http://www.matthewguise.com Matt Guise

    I tried to fail but I couldn’t even be successful at that ;-)

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  • anjum azad

    Whoa!!! failure is either inherited (passed on from genes to genes). Too many failures only brings a person closer to God and surely there is something as “failure prone” when the walls of negativity in a person are too thick. If everybody passes, who will fail to work as a part time typist? Therefore, failure is an integral part of life being the opposite of success, it has to prevail and prevail big time like success. Thanks.

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  • http://alvinyud.blogspot.com Alvin Yudistira

    Hi Dean,

    Agree as I Considered,

    Success in failing to success is just to get lesson to ensure fail in successing to fail. Master of fail will turn to Master of success.

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  • http://www.wealthydragon.com/blog Martin

    Dean, hi,

    Excellent message..! And another quote that I like is: “If you haven’t failed you haven’t tried”.

    Plus my favourite that appears in the signature line of my emails:

    “Failure is not the falling down, but the staying down”.

    (That was originally from Cassius Clay, pre Muhammad Ali days, I believe)

    Cheers,

    Martin.

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  • http://movies.pz10.com Jimmy

    Hey Dean

    Thats really true. many people think of failing as bad and they really fear failure.

    I believe that we have got just one life. So not have a taste of everything in this world? Lets taste failure even though it may be bitter.

    I am saying along with you: Lets Fail!!!

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  • http://www.klaxxon.com Nick The Geek

    Hey Dean

    Great post. Can’t remember who said “Fail Upwards” but it was on a seminar DVD I watched the other day, so that was a bit spooky! :)

    I’ve failed spectacularly on a couple of occasions, but if I hadn’t I wouldn’t have learned the lesson and wouldn’t be where I am right now.

    So don’t be scared, say it loud and say it proud …

    “I’M A FAILURE!” ;)

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  • jrandom42

    And what if your failure got people killed? Not such a great learning experience, I can assure you. And I know there would be grieving relatives ready to gut and roast you if you said, “Sorry I failed, but I’m getting better at it.”

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  • http://www.yahoo.com ntungtufhadzeni muguru

    that a very incredeble article that has also inspire me. it has made me realise that whenever i do some thing i have to aim ffor much bigger goal than the previous one. which is why i am going to study for my exams right now.

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  • Andrew

    There’s Fail Upwards like Dean is talking about then there is Fail Upwards in business.

    The difference is all the managers, supervisors, and workers Fail Upwards by being totally incompetent but full of Bluster and somehow get a promotion without ever learning anything or changing.

    You do everything humanly possible on the job and get thrown under the bus for not doing more. Do nothing and bosses are amazes when you do anything not matter how worthless.

    That’s what Fail Upwards means to me.

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