Failure: Friend Not Foe

Why are we so afraid of failure?

By nature, I am not a risk taker. I don't like high risk investments. I never liked pop quizzes, because I couldn't predict them or plan for them. And at one point in my life, I remember not auditioning for a team in college, because I knew I probably wasn't "good enough" (whatever that is).

Looking back, I may not have made the team. But I should have tried.

You can probably relate. The thought of failure makes most people cringe, and yet it is the very ingredient that often precedes success.

Someone once told me, "You only fail when you fail to try."

My message - to you and to myself - is short and simple today. Stop worrying...

• that no one will ever notice your writing
• that your project might not produce the ROI you want 
• that taking a chance on something will be the biggest mistake of your life
• that the proverbial "door of opportunity" will never open to you

You fill in the blanks.

I'd like to wrap up this little pep talk by directing your attention to a recent quote by Nancy Sathre-Vogel that Chris Guillebeau posted on his blog.

“Do it. Just do it. You will feel inadequate. You will feel you can’t do it, but you owe it to yourself to try. You might only have a 50/50 chance of making it, but you’re looking at a 100% chance of failure if you don’t even try.”