In Nigeria, and I dare say, in Africa as a whole-those who fail are often cast aside and shamed. This, in part, explains why we do not have as many creators: the environment punishes failure instead of encouraging and celebrating it.
Only those who try, fall, and if they keep trying after every fall are the ones who eventually win and keep on winning, because they have mastered the pieces needed to create a masterpiece.
Failure is an event and should never be personified. Failing does not make you a failure. It simply means you conducted an experiment and have now been given a new set of data or feedback to use as input for the next iteration.
Don’t deprive yourself of the joy of creating what is locked inside you because you are afraid to fail. And if you don’t care about that joy, then at least don’t deny those who depend on what is inside you the opportunity to experience its beauty.
Defy the fear!
Do it afraid!
Be scared, but do it anyway!
Start. Fail fast. Learn from the failure and take the lesson, because a fool is one who fails without learning from failure, and an even greater fool is one who succeeds without learning from success. Cry if you must after a fall, but limit how long you mourn your failure. Do not be afraid to start again, or to give up on what is not working. You must develop the skill of knowing when to give up, because success often requires giving up many things.
Learn from the experience of failing or of giving up, and move forward and upward. It is evaluated experience, not just experience, that is the best teacher-yours or that of others. Only a great fool insists on learning only from his or her own experience.
Your circumstances, whatever they may be, are not an excuse. I do not mean to make light of them, but there are many who have come from worse circumstances than yours and have gone on to create wonders with their lives. The people you celebrate are phoenixes who have risen from the ashes of their failures. This is why grit and resilience are non-negotiable requirements for any noble achievement.
Go, fail, and fail forward. This does not mean you do not expect success; it means you understand the reality of failure. In fact, put yourself in a position where failure is possible. Do this by stress-testing your ideas and visions. Don’t just dream-act. Whatever the outcome, treat it not as a final result but as feedback for your next iteration until you master the pieces required to produce a masterpiece, because masterpieces are built from mastered pieces.
Test those ideas. Create that thing. And remember this: let nothing from you compromise the good of others, because love is the greatest force there is. If creating or acting on your dreams requires you to compromise the good of others, you are creating a problem or amplifying an existing one when you were made to create solutions. The way of love is the best and surest path to sustainable success. Cheers to failing forward!
Get any of my books here, or the course About the Future here