Failure. No one likes to talk about it. And when we do talk about it, we like to feel there is some deeper meaning or learning in every business failure we have. I suppose it helps us to feel that we didn’t go through a bad time in vain.
Barry Moltz’s book, Bounce!, talks about failure in a different way. Gone are the platitude, replaced by the practical notion that failure is part of every growing business, neither to be praised as a “learning experience” nor to be bashed as something to be ashamed of.
Instead, Motlz sees failure as a way to build strength and confidence. Failure isn’t the opposite of success, it’s a step along the path to success. So knowing and expecting some level of failure allows you to take more risks because you learn resiliency along the way…not from your successes, but from your failures. Once you develop resiliency, you have the confidence to take even more risks and try even more big ideas because you know you can bounce back from them if they don’t go well.
And Moltz should know: he’s had his fair share of failures before he rose to his current level of success, and he talks about them proudly and without shame. Bravo!
