Go and Fail

Academy-Award nominated actor Jeremy Renner attributes much of his success to this mantra and so does the billionaire founder of SPANX Sara Blakely. Both have reached great heights in their respected fields and claim to come from homes where their parents embraced the importance of trying something and failing at it.

Sara Blakely once said in an interview, "Growing up, my father used to ask my brother and me what we had failed at at the dinner table, which was so interesting. And he'd celebrate it. He'd actually be disappointed if I didn't have anything I'd failed at that week."

Jeremy Renner echoed the sentiment in his recent interview on CBS Sunday Morning when discussing his father's mentorship. "Pick a class and go take it. Go fail. I always had love and that go fail son empowered me to go succeed, or try. So I did! I went and I just tried stuff."

Part of success is about reframing failure. When you look at setbacks as deferred successes you cultivate a tolerance for being told, "No." As a result, you're not as discouraged when it occurs. You begin to see the bigger picture and appreciate the essential role not getting something plays in becoming a person of character and resilience. 

Clarity Comes from Action not Theory

There's a great line in Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist that goes “There is only one way to learn. It’s through action.”

It's easy to read all the personal development books, attend the right seminars, and listen to podcasts recommended by colleagues but none of it means a thing if what we learn sits idle. I've learned that knowledge is not power. It is potential power. We learn through doing, not thinking. 

The trouble is often two-fold. Either we're afraid of failure or we don't know where to begin. Sometimes it's both. Again, both are byproducts of over-thinking rather than doing. In time we become over-motivated underachievers. 

I'm not suggesting one be cavalier in their endeavors or be passive about where you invest your time. I'm saying we should stop waiting for permission. 

The truth is nobody ever knows where to start. There is no blueprint for success, or single trajectory for entrepreneurship. Those who succeed stumble, even tumble, but with fortitude a sense of clarity is often revealed. Even then, it's still hazy. We just keep moving.

As far as tackling fear goes you must ask yourself what is the worst that could happen. An endeavor doesn't unfold the way you thought it would? So what? Has anything in your life ever gone according to plan? Probably not. So what's the difference?

Fail fast. Learn fast. Adjust. Rinse. Repeat.

Fail Fast

At the offices of Facebook there is a sign that reads, "Fail Fast. Break Things." At first glance the philosophical parallels between the tech world and the performing arts may seem vague at best. Still, I have found some unique similarities. The lesson with the greatest personal resonance being the importance of putting original content out into the world before it's "perfect" because there is no such thing.

One of the most crucial bits of advice I would have offered to my younger self would be to just start creating. "But how?" I would have likely asked. "Just start writing, building, trying, failing, and see where it takes you." I'd reply.

Whatever your medium you have no excuses for not beginning. It's been proven you can make a feature film with a smart phone. A community of ambitious playwrights and actors eager to share their voice with the world can be coordinated through countless online resources. And opportunities to share your music can be reached with the purchase of a permit.

You have more power than ever to express your expression and actually have people take part. Don't wait another second. Start today.