The Noble view

“Failure is a component of human life. We need to embrace it, learn from it, and move on.” jim noble – 2009

Main Entry: fail·ure

Pronunciation: \fāl-yər\

Function: noun

Etymology: alteration of earlier failer, from Anglo-French, from Old French faillir to fail

Date: 1643

1 a: omission of occurrence or performance ; specifically : a failing to perform a duty or expected action <failure to pay the rent on time> b (1): a state of inability to perform a normal function <kidney failure> — compare heart failure (2): an abrupt cessation of normal functioning <a power failure> c: a fracturing or giving way under stress <structural failure>2 a: lack of success b: a failing in business : bankruptcy3 a: a falling short : deficiency <a crop failure> b: deterioration , decay4: one that has failed

*from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/failure

Ok, so what is all this talk about failure? It all started with becoming a father (actually long before that, but I started to understand it better). I started to identify that I didn’t really know the first thing about being a father. I thought about all of the things that I remember my father doing, and unfortunately, I don’t remember my first three years of life. So, I made mistakes. I failed. I failed repeatedly, defeated by my ignorance. I was dejected, my self-esteem thrashed, and felt utterly beaten by my current situation.

Once I accepted that I didn’t know anything, I began the process of learning. I asked for help, I read books, I tried things… and failed… sometimes. Most importantly, I learned. As I continue to grow as a father, husband, and professional, I try to learn something new every day. Those who know me, know that I tell everyone, “If a day goes by that you don’t learn something new, you’ve wasted a day.” Now I’m at a position in life where some people actually ask for my advice on things, and I find that very daunting. The majority of what I know is based on failing, and learning from it. I call this experience.

Experience means to me, that you’ve made millions, perhaps even billions of mistakes. More importantly, experience is making billions of mistakes, surviving said mistakes, and learning from them. I can attest that it isn’t as easy as it sounds in the previous sentence. Some of my mistakes I still make, as my father said to me often growing up, “Some lessons you need to learn repeatedly”.

Some of my mistakes caused financial loss, others physical damage, and yet others, deep emotional pain. Thankfully, none of my mistakes have thus far caused any death, arrest, or other critical injuries.

Let’s look at failure. Truly, failure is good. Let’s take a look at professional sports. In baseball, the Batting Average is the number of hits, divided by the number of at bats. Let’s break this down… Albert Pujols, arguably the best hitter in modern day baseball, has a lifetime professional batting average of .334 (according to his Wikipedia page). So, that means, that averaged out over his professional career, for every 3 times he got up to bat, he made a hit. (I’m averaging again, work with me here). That means that 2 out of 3 times, HE FAILED!

Think about that for a second. Two out of every Three times, the BEST player in baseball failed to get a hit. Is he broken up about this? No. Should he be? No… he’s a GREAT player! And a Great batter! And he’s a professional. Now, when you dig into his career some more, you’ll see that his batting average has gotten very good, in fact, incredible. His career statistics are amazing, 7 x All Star selection, A World Series champion, 4x Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, 2x National League MVP, 2008 National League Players Choice award for Outstanding Player, and many others.

Is Albert Pujols a failure? Not hardly, in fact, he’s taken his batting averages up almost every season he’s played. Does he hit every time at bat? No. He still fails to connect the bat with the ball when at bat. But wait, you say, there are other components to being up at bat, like the skill of the pitcher, the conditions of the game, the health of the player, and a million other variables. And to this, I say, “You’re absolutely correct”.

Now, take a look at your recent failures. I’m NOT asking you to blame them on something else, but look at it, inspect it, learn it, know it, understand it. Now look at the variables that could change, and try to interpret how they could affect that same failing result in the future, and determine if you have ANY control over the variables. If not, just file that knowledge away for future as an indicator of potential problems, and whistle yourself a happy tune.

Failure is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be the END… In fact, it’s one of the best learning tools known to man. Embrace it, feel it, own it. And Learn.

I’ll leave you with some quotes from Thomas A. Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, and many other marvels of the modern age.

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

Restlessness is discontent and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure.
Thomas A. Edison

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.
Thomas A. Edison

There’s a way to do it better – find it.
Thomas A. Edison