Print 
PDFLet’s face it – there are TONS of blog posts out there that tell you how to succeed. The niche is pretty full. We all have a pretty good idea about how to win. Failure, on the other hand, doesn’t get a lot of attention. Therefore, I thought I would discuss the absolute best method you can use to guarantee failure – in any endeavor!
Everyone knows the basic techniques for succeeding at failing – not trying hard, vague goals, negative mindset, etc. While those certainly can derail a plan, they can’t hold a candle to the number one way…
Don’t Even Attempt The Challenge
The absolute best way to ensure you won’t reach a goal is to not even try to reach it. If you don’t try to learn a foreign language, you have a high percentage chance of not learning one. Don’t want to accidentally win a writing contest – don’t enter. Afraid of getting turned down for your dream job – don’t apply.
It seems so simple, but it is often overlooked. People can’t understand why they are not able to reach their goals, yet they haven’t even started down the road. How does the saying go – “The longest journey begins with a single step” or something like that? Worried you won’t reach the end of your journey? Just don’t take the first step.
Now some will argue that by not even trying you ARE failing. I guess you could make that argument. But that’s the great thing about failing – if you are TRYING to fail and you fail -then you end up succeeding… right? It is a win-win proposition.
So next time you have a chance to either participate in a tough challenge or stand on the sidelines and be a critic, make the smart move and be the critic. But don’t take my word for it. Teddy Roosevelt said it best back in 1910, during a speech at the Sorbonne in Paris:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.“
So what is YOUR next goal?
About Larry Lourcey
Plano portrait artist, Larry Lourcey, holds the designation of Master Photographer awarded by the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) in 2007. Several of Larry’s images have been selected for the prestigious PPA Loan Collection, including an image displayed at Imaging Asia in 2005. While Lourcey is most recognized for his black and white photography, the breadth of his work includes vibrant photo paintings, Polaroid transfers, and photographic collages. He derives his inspiration from master painters like John Singer Sargent and Edgar Degas, while embracing the bold styles of more modern greats; such as Pino Daeni. In his free time, Larry enjoys trying to find free time. Follow him on Twitter as @larryphoto
- Web |
- More Posts (28)
About Larry Lourcey
I’ve got another way to fail: keep investigating the possibilities until you know absolutely everything about this to the point that you know exactly how things will turn out.
Since that is an obvious impossibility, it guarantees that you will never be able to begin.
K
Love this.
Bridge Social Media recently posted..Round 3 of SPIRITED contest starts today!
As a child, I had an amazing stepfather who believed I could be anything I wanted to be, and do anything I wanted. Failure wasn’t an option as long as I tried. I’ve carried that with me always, and it is this that I try and instil in my stepdaughter, whose mother didn’t always offer the most positive advice.
Dawn recently posted..The other me is on tour…
You are soooooo right!!!!!! I took a big chance and participated in an event last year that I was so afraid of cuz I thought I might not make it and fail. I did it anyway and it was one of the biggest accomplishments of my adult life. Thanks for reminding us all of the importance of this.
I agree, life isnt easy and its sometimes scary but if you never try then you can never fail or succeed but as you said you tried and you did something..
Thanks for stopping by Janet!
I love this article! As an educator, this is what we struggle with in children. So often parents criticize and try to make children see the “reality” of something and discourage them from trying.
Free time isn’t free. Trying taking the family to the Rangers this weekend!
No- I don’t imagine that will be free! Ha.
(dofollow)
I took Dean to the last game of the World Series last year. Hopefully you will have a better game experience!
Larry Lourcey recently posted..Changing Your Perspective
so ture!! that used t be id give up on writing essays i hadn’t even started nut now i put my head down for minimum 20mins and usually the essay just flows
thanks for sharing
The hardest sentence to write is the first one – at least that’s how it is for me.
(dofollow)
Larry Lourcey recently posted..Want To Be A Better Photographer?
I loved this writer’s twist …… “But that’s the great thing about failing – if you are TRYING to fail and you fail -then you end up succeeding… right? It is a win-win proposition.”
I grew up with the saying “Not failure but low aim is a crime!”
I like that saying, Karen – and this is the first time I’ve heard it! LOL! That’s also a good way of looking at failure. It’s all a matter of perspective, isn’t it?
Glad you liked it Karen. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
A friend of mine always says, “If you don’t ask, the answer is always no” Its kind of the same concept.
(dofollow)
Larry Lourcey recently posted..Help Me Reach MY Goal
When one of my relatives said, “If I went back to college now, I’d be 53 when I finished,” his mother replied, “And how old will you be if you don’t go to college?”
Cheryl recently posted..Do-over
ROFL!!! Exactly, Cheryl. It’s never too late, but it just gets later if you procrastinate.
Ha- that is a great comeback! Its not about the destination, its about the journey.
(dofollow)
Larry Lourcey recently posted..Help Me Reach MY Goal
As another saying goes, “you will absolutely miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take.” I agree completely.
Ah yes- a great quote by The Great One.
(dofollow)
Larry Lourcey recently posted..Help Me Reach MY Goal
That is very true, will. Except for that one time when I kind of tossed the ball over my shoulder, backwards, and it accidentally-on-purpose landed in the basket (yeah, surprised me, too – and I guess, technically, I did take it – and I guess, actually, I took it without fear of failure, and in fact fully expected to fail, but succeeded!)
Totally accurate – sometimes the first step is the scariest, but once you take that first step, it gets easier to take the next step, and the next. Good old Teddy Roosevelt – said some great things, as did Eleanor.
Ronda recently posted..The Art of Persuasion – Part 4 of 4
Thanks for stopping by Ronda. Keep in touch!
(dofollow)
Larry Lourcey recently posted..Help Me Reach MY Goal