Failing Forward

Overview of Failing Forward

Book by John C. Maxwell

Ch. 1: What is the main difference between people who achieve and people who are average?

• The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception and response to failure.

Step to failing forward: Realize there is one major difference between average people and achieving people.

Redefining failure and success

Ch. 2: Get a new definition of failure and success.

• People think failure is avoidable – its not.
• People think failure is an event – its not.
• People think failure is objective – its not.
• People think failure is the enemy – its not.
• People think failure is irreversible – its not
• People think failure is a stigma – its not.
• People think failure is final – its not.

Step to failing forward: Learn a new definition of failure.

Ch. 3: If you’ve failed, are you a failure?

7 abilities of achievers that enable them to fail, not take it personally, and keep moving forward:

• Achievers reject rejection.
• Achievers see failure as temporary.
• Achievers see failures as isolated incidents.
• Achievers keep expectations realistic.
• Achievers focus on strengths.
• Achievers vary approaches to achievement.
• Achievers bounce back.

Step to failing forward: remove the “you” from failure.

Ch. 4: You’re too old to cry, but it hurts too much to laugh.

• Fear of failure stops forward progress.

The inaction that results when people are stuck in the fear cycle takes on many forms. Here are three examples:

• Paralysis
• Procrastination
• Purposelessness

To conquer fear you have to take action anyways.
Step to failing forward: take action and reduce your fear.

Ch. 5: Find the exit off the failure freeway.

What starts people down the failure freeway is a common mistake, failure, or mess up. But people who stay on the failure freeway don’t think that it’s their fault. As a result, they generally respond in one or more of the following ways:

• Blow up
• Cover up
• Speed up
• Back up
• Give up

Step to failing forward: Change your response to failure by accepting responsibility.

Do you mind changing your mind?

Ch. 6: No matter what happens to you, failure is an inside job.

The first element in winning the internal battle against failure is a positive outlook.

How do you cultivate optimism? By learning the secret of contentment. If you can learn that, then no matter what happens to you, you can weather the storm and build on the good you find in any situation.

There are a lot of misconceptions about contentment. Its not:

• Containing your emotions.
• Maintaining your current situation
• Attaining position, power, or possessions.

Step to failing forward: Don’t let the failure from outside get inside you.

Ch. 7: Is the past holding your life hostage?

The problems of people’s pasts impact them in one of two ways: They experience either a breakdown or a breakthrough. The following five characteristics are signs that people haven’t gotten over past difficulties:

• Comparison
• Rationalization
• Isolation
• Regret
• Bitterness

Step to failing forward: Say Good-bye to yesterday.

Ch. 8: Who is this person making these mistakes?

To have an opportunity to reach your potential, you must go through the following process:

1. See yourself clearly.
2. Admit your flaws honestly
3. Discover your strengths joyfully
4. Build on those strengths passionately.

Step to failing forward: Change yourself, and your world changes.

Ch. 9: Get over yourself–Everyone else has.

How do you turn your focus from yourself and start adding value to others? You can do it by:

• Putting others first in your thinking
• Finding out what others need
• Meeting that need with excellence and generosity

Step to failing forward: Get over yourself and start giving yourself.

Embracing failure as a friend

Ch. 10: Grasp the Positive benefits of negative experiences.

Adversity and the failure that often results from it should be expected in the process of succeeding, and they should be viewed as absolutely critical parts of it. In fact the benefits of adversity are many:

1. Adversity creates resilience
2. Adversity develops maturity
3. Adversity pushes the envelope of accepted performance
4. Adversity provides greater opportunities
5. Adversity prompts innovation
6. Adversity recaps unexpected benefits
7. Adversity motivates

Step to failing forward: Find the benefit in every bad experience.

Ch. 11: Take a risk – there’s no other way to fail forward.

If you want to increase your odds of success, you have to take chances.

People don’t take risks because they tend to fall into one or more of the following six traps:

1. The embarrassment trap
2. The rationalization trap
3. The unrealistic expectation trap
4. The fairness trap
5. The timing trap
6. The inspiration trap

Step to failing forward: If at first you do succeed, try something harder.

Ch. 12: Make failure your best friend.

Anyone can make failure a friend by maintaining a teachable attitude and using a strategy for learning from failure. To turn losses into profits, ask the following questions every time you face adversity:

1. What caused the failure: the situation someone else or self?
2. Was what happened truly a failure, or did I just fall short?
3. What successes are contained in the failure?
4. What can I learn from what happened?
5. Am I grateful for the experience?
6. How can I turn this into a success?
7. Who can help me with this issue?
8. Where do I go from here?

Step to failing forward: Learn form a bad experience and make it a good experience.

Increasing your odds for success

Ch. 13: Avoid the top ten reasons people fail.

The top ten reasons people fail:

1. Poor people skills
2. A negative attitude
3. A bad fit
4. Lack of focus
5. A weak commitment
6. An unwillingness to change
7. A shortcut mind-set
8. Relying on talent alone
9. A response to poor information
10. No goals

Step to failing forward: Work on the weakness that weakens you.

Ch. 14: The little difference between failure and success makes a big difference.

Most unsuccessful people believe that a huge gaping chasm stands between them and success.

• The little difference that makes a big difference when it comes to failing forward is Persistence.
• Here is a four- point plan for approaching achievement that will encourage stamina and resilience in the face of failures:

1. Purpose: find one
2. Excuses: eliminate them
3. Incentives: develop some
4. Determination: cultivate it

Step to failing forward: Understand there’s not much difference between failure and success.

Ch. 15: It’s what you do after you get back up that counts.

If you’re tired of pulling yourself back up after you fell, you need a plan that will determine what you will do AFTER you’ve gotten back up.

Steps based on the word FORWARD:

1. Finalize your goal
2. Order your plans
3. Risk failing by taking action
4. Welcome mistakes
5. Advance based on your character
6. Reevaluate your progress continually
7. Develop New strategies to succeed

Step to failing forward: Get up, Get over it, Get going.

Ch. 16: Now you’re ready to fail forward.

Steps to failing forward:

1. Realize there is one major difference between average people and achieving people.
2. Learn a new definition of failure.
3. Remove the you from failure
4. Take action and reduce your fear.
5. Change your response to failure by accepting responsibility.
6. Don’t let the failure from outside you get inside you.
7. Say good-bye to yesterday.
8. Change yourself, and your world changes.
9. Get over yourself and start giving yourself.
10. Find the benefit in every bad experience.
11. If at first you do succeed, try something harder.
12. Learn from a bad experience and make it a good experience.
13. Work on the weakness that weakens you.
14. Understand there’s not much difference between failure and success.
15. Get up, get over it, get going.

“The greatest mistake we make is living in constant fear that we will make one.”

-John Maxwell

I would recommend this book for ages 13+.