We all have a story. I’m living mine, and you are living yours. With every choice we make, we are learning and growing from that experience. By continuing to “fail forward” friends, we are choosing never to give up. We are choosing to ignore the perfectionist inside and move toward our goals.

IMAGE – Bob Samara

While doing my personal growth/development, the phrase “fail forward” kept popping up in my head. I am always learning, and you can’t go wrong while learning ways to become a better YOU. I recently attended an uci fall 2022 start date. This was a life-changing event for me. He teaches us how our minds work and how to reach our goals.

IMAGE stands for Intuition, Motivation, Awareness, Genius, and Energy. In each seminar I attended, he would coach us on understanding how each plays a role in our lives. If we tune in to them and focus on our goals, we can accomplish anything we set our minds to. I attended 7 seminars and took something new from each. Most importantly, Coach Bob explains how powerful our brains are and that we have the power to change the way we think. He teaches how to tap into your potential and work at a higher level of consciousness.

“Fail forward.” To me, this means to do something! I have used/heard tons of excuses. I start many things, do them intensely, and do them well, then a challenge or a plateau arises, and I hesitate. The perfectionist inside begins to chime in with self-doubt. Then, negative self-talk sets in, and I tend to stop doing and start thinking. I sometimes overthink to the point that I stop all productive activity forward. I was once told: the only way to fail is to do nothing. Now I choose to “fail forward” friends!

The only way to truly fail is to quit. Even if it’s small, you have to do something to push yourself towards your goals (preferably every day), no matter what! By making these healthy choices daily, you create a Compound Effect, and over time you reach your goals. In contrast, if you do nothing daily, then over time, all you have is a lot of NOTHING!

The Compound Effect

During an interview with Rory Vaden, Darren Hardy, author of The Compound Effect, defined it as “the principle of reaping huge rewards from a series of small, smart choices. Our present reality is an outcome of the little, seemingly innocuous decisions that have added up to your current bank balance, waistline, business success, relationship status, etc.

They are not the big decisions that make the big difference. No, success is earned through the pesky little ones. For example, do I have the cake or grab a piece of fruit or do I go to happy hour or go to the gym? Should I make three more prospecting calls or call it a day? Do I say I love you to my wife or shrug it off for another day? Should I listen to the news or an instructional audio/video? Do I finish reading this article or check (again) for the latest new email? There is no magic bullet, secret formula, or quick fix.

Success is not a result of grand acts of bravery, quantum leaps, or heroic feats. Success is earned in the moment-to-moment decisions that in themselves make no visible difference whatsoever, but the accumulated compounding effect is profound. It’s the “magic” Einstein described as the ‘8th wonder of the world.’ The results it produces may look like magic, but in fact, they’re the certain outcome of a very practical, logical, and mathematically predictable process. As fantastic a result as compound interest can have on your money, so can the correct choices have on your life.”

A software programmer friend once told me: “You know, in certain programming styles, the goal is to fail fast. If something goes wrong, the idea is to admit failure early and do something different, instead of just going down the wrong path forever.”

It is time to “fail forward,” friends! We all have areas of our life that we want to improve! I have a list of things I plan to continue to try, fail, learn (repeat)! For example, meal planning consistently, eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, fewer processed foods, working to stay present in the moment, drinking half your body weight in ounces of water each day, read 30 minutes or more of personal development books/podcasts/articles, spending time with friends/family and improve those relationships, organizing my time most efficiently.

Do you choose to fail forward with me?