Dare to Fail!
Rich Baker
Build Connected, Effective Leaders & Teams with Training That's Actually Fun | Keynote Speaker | Workshop Leader | Improv Expert | Comedian
Being afraid of failure is baked into most of us from an early age. Growing up, when it came to my grades, failure was not an option. I got all A’s. Anything less was unacceptable.
That fear of failure helped me to get good grades AND it absolutely hindered me in many other areas of my life.?
Failure is how we learn. We need failure, lots of failures, in order to learn and grow.
The ability to fail and try again is a skill. When we view failure as a bad thing, it becomes scary and we go out of our way to not experience it. But avoiding fear hinders growth.
I’ve said ‘dare to fail’ well over twenty thousand times in my seventeen years as an improv teacher and coach. It’s my shortcut reminder to my students to excitedly jump into the abyss. I know it works.
I met a middle-aged man in L.A. when I first moved here who said, “I don’t trust anyone in this town who hasn’t been fired at least twice.” Speaking as someone who’s been fired twice, I really appreciated that statement. Here are a few more ringing endorsements of failure…
“I haven’t failed, I just figured out another way it won’t work.” -Thomas Edison
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“If failure is not an option, neither is success. Innovation is just repeated failure till you come up with something that works.” -Seth Godin?
"When you take risks, you learn that there will be times when you succeed, and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important." -Ellen DeGeneres
So, instead of seeing failure as something to run away from, WHAT IF we saw it as something to run toward??
What if we were eager to fail? What if we celebrated failure? What if we dared to fail?
The more we practice failure the better we get at it. So, how do you practice? There are many ways, but one of the most effective (and fun) is play. As an improv teacher, I facilitate play for a living where I constantly encourage people to fail and celebrate failure. It grows your comfortability with failure and growth. It also levels up so many other skills like listening & creativity.
And did I mention it’s fun? If you’d like to try out improv in a supportive environment, drop in one of my weekly online improv practice groups as my guest (free) and have a blast with us.
Click here to sign up for a FREE DROP IN. I look forward to having you in class. =)
Using improv and soft skills to teach adults how to play again. Building communication, leadership, work-life balance and culture. ?Edutainer ?Instructor? Keynote Speaker
1 年Love this! Follow that fear and the best things can be discovered!
Sociology Professor, Creative Development Consultant, Actor, Host/Presenter, Author/Writer, Photographer, and Video Editor.
1 年We have to practice in order to grow - and practice means developing new skills, and new ways of being and interacting—it's all so worth it!
Organizational Development Professional, Believer in People, Org Culture Nerd, Aggressive Basketball Rebounder
1 年Love it! Confidence isn't knowing you're right, it's being okay with being wrong.
Leadership & Change Expert | Hall of Fame Speaker | Author of Leading in Real Time: How to Drive Success in a Radically Changing World ★ I'm passionate about helping organizations build exceptional leaders and workplaces
1 年Failure gets a bad wrap, Rich Baker. So many great examples throughout history and it the quotes you shared where adversity created opportunity. The ups and downs are all part of our journeys.
Increase Your Visibility & Maximize Your Revenue. Sales & Marketing Expert, Coach, Consultant.
1 年So many great things here!