Failure is a beautiful thing. It’s what makes life a story.
And if we’re willing to embrace it as a learning opportunity rather than treating it as a source of shame, success will not be far behind.
But let’s not fetishize it. Let’s not dwell on our failures and beat ourselves up and become prisoners of our own mythologies. Because at some point, we have to let the past die so the future can take care of itself.
Otherwise it will carve a neural pathway in our brains that reinforces inaction.
I have an actor friend whose manager gives him the same piece of advice after every unsuccessful audition.
Remember the past the way you need to. Erase all of your memories except for the great things that worked, and use those victories to build confidence and momentum for what’s next.
It’s not selective attention, it’s strategic intention. Cognitive reframing. Telling yourself the story you need to hear to overcome rejection.
And if you’re worried that doing so would mean not being completely truthful with yourself, wake up. Honesty isn’t always the best policy.
As my favorite film director said:
Human beings need their illusions to survive. They’re much happier when they let some lies into their lives.
Without the willingness to remember the past the way they need to, their failures will only weigh upon them that much more heavily.
LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Are you tell a small lie in order to achieve the bigger truth?
LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “99 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur, Even If You Aren’t One,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!
* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.
Never the same speech twice. Customized for your audience. Impossible to walk away uninspired.
Now booking for 2017-2018.
Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of
The Nametag Guy in action here!
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