Lourd Hanzel P.

Olac

BBA Mgt- III

FAILING FORWARD

by JOHN C. MAXWELL

The Big Idea

Failing forward tells you how to look at lifes setbacks and learn from your mistakes. If
you havent failed at anything, it means you havent really taken a risk at anything. Failures are
only as bad as you perceive them to be. Life is much better when you live, and try, and fail.
Living requires failing every now and then. The basic steps to moving on and failing forward
are:
Realize there is one major difference between average people and achievers. The difference is
in how they respond to failure.
Learn a new definition of failure.
Remove the you from failure. Dont take it personally.
Take action and reduce your fear.
Change your response to failure by accepting responsibility.
Dont let failure from outside get inside you.
Say good-bye to yesterday.
Change yourself, and your world changes.
Get over yourself and start giving yourself.
Find the benefit in every bad experience.
If at first you do succeed, try something harder.
Learn from a bad experience and make it a good experience.
Work on the weakness that weakens you.
Understand theres not much difference between failure and success.
Get up, get over it, get going.
What does it mean to fail forward and how it is different with failing backward?

According to John Maxwell, failing backward means Blaming others, repeating the
same mistakes, expecting never to fail again, expecting to continually fail, accepting tradition
blindly, being limited by past mistakes, thinking I am a failure, quitting. On the contrary, failing
forward means Taking responsibility, learning from each mistake, knowing failure is a part of
progress, maintaining a positive attitude, challenging outdated assumptions, taking new risks,
believing something didnt work, persevering. In failing forward, there are seven principles:

1. Reject Rejection
Achievers who persevere do not base their self-worth on their performance. On the
contrary, they have a healthy self-image that's not dictated by external events. When they fall
short, rather than labeling themselves a failure, they learn from mistakes in their judgment or
behavior.
2. Don't Point Fingers
When people fail, they're often tempted to blame others for their lack of success. By
pointing fingers, they sink into a victim mentality and cede their fate to outsiders. When playing
the blame game, people rob themselves of learning from their failures and alienate others by
refusing to take responsibility for mistakes.
3. See Failure as Temporary
People who personalize failure see a problem as a hole they're permanently stuck in,
whereas achievers see any predicament as temporary. One mindset wallows in failure, the other
looks forward to success. By putting mistakes into perspective, achievers are able to see failure
as a momentary event, not a symptom of a lifelong epidemic.
4. Set Realistic Expectations
Unrealistic goals doom people to failure. For instance, if a person hasn't exercised for
five years, then making it to a gym twice a week may be a better goal than running in next
month's marathon. Also, some people insensibly expect to be perfect. Everyone fails, so expect
setbacks and emotionally prepare to deal with them.
5. Focus on Strengths
Don't invest time shoring up non-character flaws at the exclusion of investing in your
strengths. People operating from a position of strength enjoy a far lower rate of failure than those
laboring in areas of weakness. You're built to give your talents to the world; be diligent about
finding expressions for them in your career.
6. Vary Approaches to Achievement
In the Psychology of Achievement, Brian Tracy writes about four millionaires who made
their fortunes by age 35. On average, these achievers were involved in 17 businesses before they
finding the one that took them to the top. They kept trying and changing until they found
something that worked.
7. Bounce Back
Rehashing missteps and blunders for too long sabotages concentration and eats away at
self-confidence. When dealing with failure, achievers have short memories. They quickly forget
the negative emotions of setbacks and press forward resiliently. While taking pause to learn from
failures, achievers realize that the past cannot be altered.

INSIGHTS:
Failing backwards is caused by someones own pride and negativity. People who usually
fail backwards are those people who think that they are above others and they are more important
than others. Once they fail, they see themselves as a failure and this hinders them from
achieving. This book talks about how to see our failures as something that should be welcomed
and educational. As they say, Experience is the best teacher.
I, in all honesty, hate committing mistakes. I really hate failure. Once I fail, its like
everything around me crashes. And I know it is because of my pride. This book taught me how
to welcome my failures and to learn with it. It may still be a long way to change this side of me
but I know, slowly, I will still get to terms with failing. As Alexander Pope once said To err is
human.