The Value of Failure

I have been reading some non-fiction later and it keeps pointing me towards the importance of failure

I have been trying to read more lately, and by read its been mostly audiobooks. I recently discovered that I can use my local libraries online system to get both e-books and audiobooks on my phone for free which is awesome!

Check out Libby it is an awesome front end for using your local library resources, and at least where I live its totally free. Definitely worth checking out if you like reading or listening to books.

Anyway in reading the The Talent Code, Creativity Inc., and The 4-Hour Workweek I saw a trend in the importance of failure for both learning and growth. I have spent most of my life trying to succeed and in general appear successful. This has typically meant working towards not failing, with the mindset that it was the opposite of the success I was looking for. It has been very interesting listening to Creativity Inc. as Ed Catmull appears to be a phenomenal leader all spurred on by the idea that the best ideas can come from anywhere and that their are many problems that you cannot see. What is more interesting then his ideals however, are his actions. Listening to the way Pixar handled its success and the ways in which people became afraid to challenge the status quo were very inspiring. Ensure that people aren’t afraid to fail, to take calculated chances, and risks can be difficult but with proper protections in place it appeared to do much more good then harm to their films and culture.

I often struggle to correlate things that I read into my own life and learning. It seems easy and simple when you read why a process worked in one context but then seemingly impossible for how it might work in your own. This is something I struggle with and I believe likely due to my fear of failure. Something that I will need to keep working on, trialing, iterating, failing, and repeating.

Published by in Life and tagged 4-Hour Workweek, Books, Creativity Inc, Failure and The Talent Code using 327 words.

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