Failure.
The word sounds so bitter and sad, doesn’t it?
Kinda makes you think of a wilted flower falling short of full potential bloomability*. Avoid it at all costs, no?
No 🙅.
A resounding no.
In the words of author Seth Godin, “If I fail more than you, I win.”
Why?
If we’re not failing, we’re not trying. If we’re not trying, we’re not winning.
We’re not winning when we’re afraid of pushing the boundaries and exploring new ideas.
We play it safe and settle for mediocrity.
But the moment we embrace failure and take risks, we crack open a world of possibility.
At MTA, mistakes = opportunities.
I see children taking risks and exploring new ideas, with the understanding that mistakes and failures are part of the learning process.
I see teachers taking the time to join with the children in reflecting on what went wrong and learning from it. Rather than simply telling them what they did wrong, they empower children to believe that mistakes are normal and important parts of growing.
I even see myself embracing failure opportunities, opening myself to fail more often, and learning more along the way.
Shlomo Hamelech (King Soloman) said it best** in Koheles,
“A righteous person falls seven times, but they will stand.”
It’s not despite the fall.
It’s because of the fall that they stand.
Does this method take immense amounts of patience?
Of course. But we wouldn’t change it for the world.
And I’ve got historical evidence proving failure is a part of any successful endeavor.
Thomas Edison famously tried thousands of times to invent a working, cost-effective, saleable lightbulb.
He failed more.
But we have light 💡 now because he did.
The Wright brothers made over a thousand short “glide” flights in their various prototypes – none of which achieved the sustained flight they wanted to accomplish.
But we can fly ✈️ now because they did.
The Apollo program to the moon was full of serious setbacks, missed goals, and serious mistakes.
But we can dream 🚀now because of them.
Embrace failure as the stepping-stone it is towards greatness.
Take a risk.
Fail early. Fail often.
All the best,
Rabbi Shmuel
*Ok I made that word up 😜
**and no. He doesn’t need my approbation 😉.
