Fail like a circus performer

Innovation is about change. If you are not failing in the process, you are not challenging the status quo. The key to success is to fail, fail often and fail early.

The following is a great analogy from Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success by John C. Maxwell. The power of the human mind is amazing. So, instead of worrying about failing, focus on strengthening your safety net.

Once you know that the net below will catch you, you stop worrying about falling. You actually learn to fall successfully! What that means is, you can concentrate on catching the trapeze swinging toward you, and not on falling, because repeated falls in the past have convinced you that the net is strong and reliable when you do fall… The result of falling and being caught by the net is a mysterious confidence and daring on the trapeze. You fall less. Each fall makes you able to risk more.

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