Have you heard of the phrase, to fail forward?

Ultimately, it means that it’s okay to fail AS LONG AS you learn from your mistakes.

It’s something to be embraced.

It’s part of a learning culture that seeks continuous improvement.

For instance, if we wait for a project, idea, or test to be perfect, someone else might already have done so and received all the credit.

Instead, if we fail forward through trial and error and learn from what went wrong, it can lead to greater outcomes than one might imagine.

In case you need an example of people who failed forward to success, there is:

Lucille Ball –

All her life she wanted to act. She went from being told she was not worth the time, to being fired from gigs, and being named “Queen of the B’s” for her role in second rate films.

Today, among many other awards she has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and four Emmy Awards!

“I’d rather regret the things I have done than the things that I haven’t.”

Abraham Lincoln –

Prior to his presidency, he lost near 9 bids for various public offices. He was fired from jobs and went bankrupt as a business owner.

Today, he is recognized as the 16th President who led the nation through its bloodiest war to preserve the union and abolish slavery.

“That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.”

Thomas Edison –

All throughout grade school, his teachers said he wasn’t smart enough and was fired from jobs.

After other inventions failed, he persisted on trying again. What he is most known for, is not one of his own inventions, but an improvement on an existing idea.

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Failure is something that is sometimes unavoidable, something that is required for success. Be careful not to get stressed, make disastrous mistakes, or become stagnant, but to continue to prosper; To try and try again.

If this approach of failing forward worked for Lucille Ball, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, and many others, then it should be worth testing out for yourself.