Brené Brown, the author of Daring Greatly and The Gifts of Imperfection, knows all about vulnerability.
Today, in a TV interview on the Oprah Winfrey Network, she said something that resonated so powerfully I rushed to incorporate it into a graphic image. I then posted it on Google Plus, my favorite social network.
“When failure is not an option,” she said, “innovation is not an option.”
Her message was directed not just to individuals, but also to organizations where the culture does not allow initiatives that might crash and burn. Always playing it safe may be “safe” — but it rules out any possibility for truly great, astonishing success. Anything truly new and daring.
To succeed at the highest level, we must embrace the possibility of failure. We must be willing to fail and to experience the consequences of that failure.
Scary — but that also is the door to ultimate success.
Have you ever succeeded by opening yourself to failure? Please share your experience in the comments section.