Transformative Book | Failing Forward by John C. Maxwell

Fail early, fail often, but always fail forward

Most of us will not again witness the kind of wholesale failure that the year 2020 delivered to the world. Along with the tragic loss of life that the planet underwent came a massive loss of social & professional security for many of us. Thousands of businesses failed, froze or faltered due to the unprecedented shutdown of global consumer demand in some of the world’s most traditionally stable industries.

Most of us viewed the experience as a catastrophe, and many of us are only now picking ourselves up in the aftermath - filled with a renewed sense of cynicism at the prospect of future prosperity for ourselves and our families.  

This book will challenge that perspective, and dare you to view failure as a valuable stepping stone on the road to success. In fact, it’ll suggest that without experiencing significant personal failure, future success is far more unlikely to take place.  

OVERVIEW

Failing forward is essentially a guide to adopting failure as a critical component in achieving long term success. This guide lays out 15 steps, beginning with the realisation that failure should be embraced rather than resisted, and progressing into more refined tactics that enable one to leverage the process of failing to build the road to subsequent success.  

Failing forward is extremely easy to read, and leverages dozens of real-world anecdotes to provide relevant examples of how failure has played a part in the success of highly successful individuals and organisations throughout history.

Maxwell identifies no fewer than 15 steps to failing forward. I’m going to focus on those that resonated most strongly with me because, well, 15 is a lot of steps to cover. All, however are all are poignant and thought-provoking in one way or another.

TAKEAWAY #1

Realise there is one major difference between average people and achieving people

A major insight for me was to learn that failure is just as present in average people as it is in successful people. In fact, it’s often more present in the latter. The main different between these two groups is their perception of and response to failure.

Maxwell goes on to say that how people see failure and deal with it is perhaps the most fundamental indicator of whether or not they’ll ultimately succeed. While both the ‘averages’ and the ‘achievers’ experience failure, it’s only the ‘achievers’ who are able to look past and learn from it.

TAKEAWAY #2

Change yourself, and your world changes

Maxwell believes that in order for people to find success, they need first to be willing to change themselves and their attitude. This transformation comprises of elements, namely;

1.   See yourself clearly

2.   Admit your flaws honestly

3.   Discover your strengths joyfully

4.   Build on those strengths passionately

Ultimately he cites Sam Peeples Jr. who says “The circumstances of life, the events of life, and the people around me in life to not make me the way I am, but reveal the way I am”.

TAKEAWAY #3

Understand there’s not much difference between failure and success

While most people believe that there exists a giant abyss separating them from success, and that they’ll never be able to cross this, Maxwell tells us that in fact there is very little difference between failure and success. However, that little difference makes all the difference in the end. In order to cross that chasm, one needs to;

1. Find a purpose
2. Eliminate excuses
3. Develop incentives
4. Cultivate determination   

Ken Hubbard is cited as surmising, “There is no failure except no longer trying. There is no defeat except from within, no really insurmountable barrier save our own inherent weakness of purpose” –every point included in its own paragraph.”

CONCLUSION: IS IT WORTH READING

Absolutely. Failing Forward is one of the best transformative books I’ve read, and I’ll read it at least a few times over. It’s a quick read, full of insightful anecdotes, and a book that’ll have you paging back to find the valuable nuggets from previous chapters along the way.

Rating - 8/10

Make sure you have - A Pen; an open mind.

Stickiness rating* - 7/10

Perfect For - Business owners / those hit hard by Covid-19 or 2021 in general

*The stickiness rating measures how well the ideas and lessons in this book remain with you once you're done. A sticky book will have you reciting its lessons and insights inadvertently to others, while a non-sticky book will be easily forgotten.

You can get Failing Forward by John C. Maxwell at Amazon or listen via Audible