I have two questions first question have
you encountered failure recently second
question if you have how did that
encounter with failure turn out we fail
to remember where we left our cell phone
where we put our keys where we parked
our car we fail to write that amazing
essay to get the gravy want on that test
or quiz or we fail to put together that
perfect TEDx presentation our failures
can be insignificant I fail to turn the
TV off at night our failures can have
far-reaching consequences as a global
community we are failing to effectively
clean up toxic pollution whether our
failures are significant or
insignificant
the fact is failure is a part of life
and yet if you think about the images
you see on a day-to-day basis the
messages we receive we might believe
that success is all that matters
talented and successful in control and
successful savvy and successful active
and successful
Tastefully energizing and successful
systematic and successful in such a
success driven environment it's no
wonder we might find it difficult to
think about failure but if we do take
the time to think about failure we can
realize that when we encounter failure
we have a choice we can choose to fail
unsuccessfully we can see failure as a
completely negative experience
we can see failure as a wall that blocks
our way or we can see failure as a
dead-end that leads nowhere
or when we encounter failure we can
choose to fail successfully we can see
the possibilities that exist in failure
we can try something new take a risk
when we encounter failure we can believe
in the path we have chosen and continue
when we encounter failure we can step
back open ourselves to our failure and
learn from our mistakes you might be
thinking it's failing successfully
really possible not only is it really
possible it's the only way to fail you
might not recognize these two gentlemen
this is Tenzing Norgay and edmund
hillary the first people to successfully
climb Mount Everest but between the two
of them the person who encountered
failure the most is Tenzing Norgay over
a span of 17 years he made six attempts
but six different expeditions to climb
Mount Everest and each of those
expeditions ended in failure his
response to failure represents the first
aspect of fairly successfully try take
risks in 1953 a British expedition under
the leadership of Colonel John hunt came
to climb Mount Everest and they invited
Tenzing Norgay
to join them and he made the same
response he had in the previous six
attempts he decided to try something new
he decided to try this new approach to
climbing Everest
you know May 29th 1953 he and Edmund
Hillary reached the summit of Mount
Everest many times when we encounter
failure were free to try again because
we're afraid of
were afraid of being embarrassed we're
afraid of looking like failures tensing
Norgay wasn't now let's take a moment
and imagine where tens ignore gay but
we're not trying to climb Mount Everest
we're trying to do something simple
well maybe not simple but like organize
our time we're having difficulties
organizing our time and so we're going
to try something new gonna take a risk
and do something different to try to
organize our time yeah you might say
organizing our time that doesn't seem
like much of a risk any time we try to
do something new we always face the
possibility of failure so here we go
well organizing our time okay we're
trying a different approach
moving along okay you're making some
progress and all of a sudden we come to
a situation that's very perplexing very
difficult try to organize our time and
we fail it took a risk tried something
new and we failed now what you might not
recognize this person but if you're
thinking this is JK Rowling the author
of the Harry Potter series you are
correct you also might be thinking what
is JK Rowling doing in a talk about
failure well whether or not you're a fan
of the Harry Potter series
the fact is JK Rowling's first Harry
Potter book Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer's Stone was initially rejected
by publishers 12 times but once that's
why it's not 3 times 12 times her
response to repeated failure represents
the second aspect of family success we
believe and persist how is she able to
do it how is she able to come back
failure after failure after failure
after failure after failure could it be
the case that she believed at the time
she spent riding her story could it be
the case that she believed in the effort
she put into developing the characters
in developing the narrative of her story
could it be the case that she believed
in the value and meaning of Harry Potter
story I think all of those are true so I
think that when she received a rejection
she realized she had failed but she
believed and so she took her manuscript
and she submitted it to another
publisher
she believed and she persisted I don't
know if you've ever had the experience
where you meet a friend and your friend
says hey guess what I've just started
this new exercise routine and you say
hey that's great you know but here that
it may be a couple of months go by and
you see that same friend and you say hey
how's that new exercise routine going
and your friend says oh that it didn't
work out now let me let me be clear our
place is not to judge other people there
are many reasons why someone might stop
doing something that seems to be
beneficial for them there could be
personal reasons
there could be family reasons there
could be medical reasons
so our place isn't to judge but we can
ask ourselves how do we respond when we
repeatedly encounter failure do we
believe that were the worth the effort
to continue do we believe that were
worth the time that it takes to make
things happen
JK Rowling did she believed in what she
was doing she persisted and so can we
now failing successfully is it just
about taking risks and trying something
new and believing in ourselves and
persistence we can actually in our
failures grow from our failures this
person might not be familiar to you but
there's a hint as to who they are in the
photo
this is Thomas Edison the inventor of
the incandescent light bulb Thomas
Edison was a very
successful entrepreneur many inventions
to his credit so again you might be
asking what's he doing in a talk about
failure in the process of inventing the
incandescent light bulb Thomas Edison
failed 1,000 times that's right
1,000 times a reporter once asked Thomas
Edison mr. Edison
how did it feel to fail 1,000 times
Thomas Edison replied I didn't fail
1,000 times the invention of the
incandescent light bulb had 1,000 steps
his response to failure represents the
third expect a fairly successful
learn from your mistakes Thomas Edison
saw his failure not as a step back but
as a step forward he saw failure as
teaching him something he didn't know
before have you ever seen a student
receive a test a paper or a quiz with a
bad grade you take that test paper quiz
ball it up and throw it away without
ever looking at it there's a treasure
trove of information in that test paper
or quizzes you can learn from that test
paper or quiz you can grow in knowledge
and understanding and I'm not just
talking about tests papers and quizzes
what about that failed relationship what
about that falling-out you've had with a
friend or a family member what about
that job interview that didn't go well
did we just follow those up throw them
away or do we step back open ourselves
to our failures and allow our failures
to teach us so that we can grow
personally grow towards our goals grow
towards success Thomas Edison did so can
we now failing successfully does not
take away the sting of failure it gives
us a way to meaningfully engage failure
and the fact is if I don't mention this
next aspect a family successfully the
other three will be much less meaningful
everybody knows who that is Albert
Einstein patent clerk that's right
Albert Einstein was a patent clerk when
he was pursuing these ideas he wasn't a
scientist in some university with a big
salary in 1902 Einstein moved to
Switzerland where he procured a job as a
clerk in a patent office he was pursuing
his studies but he wasn't getting any
recognition no one was really paying
attention to him what if and this is
very unlikely but what if Einstein had
said you know what no one's paying any
attention to me I'm just a patent clerk
well forget all this what if he had said
that where would we be but he didn't say
that he saw the potential to the
possibilities and his idea and he
pursued them and in 1905 he published
free groundbreaking papers to change the
way we see the universe Einsteins
approach to failure represents the
fourth aspect a family successfully look
beyond
we fail unsuccessfully when we say the
following I'm just a student I'm just
one person I'm just an amateur when we
do that we put ourselves into a box and
maybe we do the same to others in a
difficulty about this is that were the
only ones who can get ourselves out and
we get ourselves out by understanding
that each of us has potential and
possibility there's so much potential
and each one of us so many possibilities
in each one of us but if we are limiting
ourselves and putting ourselves into a
box saying I'm just it's going to be
very difficult to see that potential and
that possibility and pursue it so ladies
and gentlemen I hope for all of you that
when you encounter failure you take
risks to try something new when you
encounter failure you believe in the
path you have chosen you believe you are
worth the time and effort and you
continue when you encounter failure
step back open yourself to your failure
and allow your failure to teach you so
that you can look beyond and see the
possibility and the potential that
exists within you ladies and gentlemen I
hope you fail successfully because
failing successfully is the only way to
fail thank you
[Applause]