Give yourself permission to fail....over and over again

Recently, as I stood before a group of budding entrepreneurs, we spoke of the high incidences of small business failure the world over. As the conversation progressed and I tried to 'put failure into perspective,' one bright young man asked of me....'so when then, does an entrepreneur back away? When does he say to himself that this business concept is just not gonna work? If failure is a part of the process, when is failure too much?  Without skipping a beat, and though I had never given formal thought to the question, I heard myself say, "when the fire inside him dies; when he no longer has a passion for what he's doing - then, and only then, should he walk away....for if he dares to persevere, if he soldiers on he is guaranteed success."

In our pursuit of our goals, be they ordinary or lofty, we must learn to give ourselves permission to fail...many times over. We must consider the potential pitfalls and take stock of the realities that are likely to result in failure along the way. We need to be fully cognizant that we may be required to pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off and start afresh. And that's okay. Let us remember this truth as well: society will never give us permission to do anything but to follow its norms and values. It will never embrace our failures. It may never provide us the environment in which to grow, but grow we must. And since failure is a necessary ingredient for growth, let's make up our minds to fail forward.

And so, let's not await the approval of others as we seek to move beyond the realms of mediocrity. Neither let us be intimidated by the likely magnitude or frequency of failure. Its lessons  have always been more instructive than the lessons of success. The pain of loss, the agony of defeat,  often become a poignant reminder and a strong impetus for action. For many people, the things they have failed miserably at in life have become the mileposts, the platform from which they afterwards launch massive success. Let us not choose to be constrained by other peoples opinions, their fears, their small-mindedness. Let us instead move forward knowing full well that failure lurks in the by-ways. But having full confidence that each failure marks an attempt, and each attempt says we are moving forward towards our desired goals.

With deliberate intent, approach each day with boldness. Walk bravely towards the fulfillment of your dreams, all the time giving yourself permission to do it as many times as necessary to get it right. Remember that no matter what conventional wisdom says...in spite of societal dicates, "failure is always an option."