Last month at a networking luncheon six other local business owners and I began laughing about mistakes we had made in our businesses. We quickly went from being strangers to feeling connected. An owner of several local coffee shops reminded us that Edison “ failed “ 1000 times on his way to inventing the light bulb.
“Hey,” he said “Wouldn't it be great today if when it comes to group introductions time, we all shared our biggest business failure?”
I love this idea. I love it because although talking about our mistakes and failures may feel vulnerable and even shameful - acknowledging them can be both bonding and growth enhancing. Sharing our failures and what we've learned from them can help us remember: Oh hooray! We are each of us human- a perfectly imperfect, masterpiece-in-the-making-human!
Later that day, I had a fascinating conversation with a successful entrepreneur who was beginning a high risk venture. He told me he has started similar ventures several times. When I mentioned the earlier conversation sharing business failures, he became animated as he told me about his most devastating failure and the invaluable lessons he had learned about maximizing possibilities while minimizing risks.
“How about personal growth from that experience?” I asked.
“Oh, I grew more in my leadership from making those mistakes and recovering from them than from anything else I’ve ever done,“ he replied.
“Failure is simple the opportunity to begin again - this time more intelligently.” ~ Henry Ford
In my own life and with my friends and clients, I see again and again that when we hide our mistakes and failures they begin to burn us with shame and keep us small and stuck. When we can look at them with kindness and clarity and perhaps share them with people we trust, they become opportunities.
“ Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is simply another step toward greatness.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
So in this month of celebration, try celebrating even your failures as an invitation to grow ever more fully into your greatness.
Want help transforming a failure - in any area of your life- into an opportunity to achieve greatly? Drop me an email Lea@LeaBayles.com and we’ll have a phone chat to see how my 1:1 coaching or programs could give you support you.
“ Only those who dare to fail greatly can achieve greatly.” ~ Robert Kennedy
“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no lack of enthusiasm.” ~ Winston Churchill