Today, I’ve opened my eyes to a new way of seeing, that reminds me of the youthful exploration and sense of fun I once enjoyed.
Damn it sucks to be an adult… so far.
But today I learned a new way to be, and it stems from two words. Failure and Success… or to be more precise, new definitions.
What is success?
Success is a measure of validated improvements
Let me break that down for you:
- Success is measurable
- Made up of improvements
- Which can be tested for (validated)
This means success is a game of taking steps, and noticing them. Success might be taking a tube of salami and eating it one slice at a time. Baby steps make as much of success as the big steps… in fact, big steps might not even count as an improvement.
Ultimately, by this measure, we are all successful, can be more successful and all have the capacity to succeed.
What is failure?
A finite state, or judgment with a tone of finality A word best removed from one’s vocabulary. A word better replaced with “discover”
When I was kicked out of my mums house, I didn’t fail at my relationship with my mum, but I did discover what not to do.
When I was terrified and homeless I didn’t fail at life, I discovered a new empathy for those in hard times.
Failure as a concept is finite. Discovery never ends.
Ideas safely borrowed from these two excellent gentlemen. On Success: Meir Ezra on the Can I Pick Your Brain? podcast On Failure: Steve Sims’s book “Bluefishing: The Art of Making Things Happen”
Highly recommended.