Brian Johnson (Heroic +1 #1,738) presents a short podcast episode arguing that failure is inevitable and should be embraced as the price paid for leveling up. He cites Matt Higgins, Dave Chang, Coach Wooden, Yogananda, Trevor Moawad, Russell Wilson and Derek Jeter to show that top achievers treat failures as learning data—extract lessons, bury the past, expand the definition of success, and return wiser and stronger. The episode closes with a practical takeaway: use failure to learn and then act.
Chapters
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another heroic one. In our last couple ones, we spent some time with Matt Higgins burning our boats and going all in on creating the life we want. As you may recall, we started by talking about Zelensky and getting rid of our exit strategy. Then we talked about how to conquer our demons by connecting to our daimons. Today I want to talk about the fact that as Matt tells us, failure is the price we pay for leveling up. Let's get straight to work. Matt tells us, and I quote, in other words, he doesn't let his losses define him. He may fail, but that doesn't make him a failure. This is the single most important attribute I see in people who have had unexplainable breakout success. The highest achievers let their wins become part of their identity to bolster their belief in themselves, the difference between victory or defeat, and is leaving the losses behind. Extract lessons? Absolutely. But once you pick over the carcass of failure, bury it in the desert and never return to pay your respects, it's gone for good. Every time these achievers fail, they simply expand their definition of success to accommodate the failure as a stepping stone. Along the way, he continues by saying, Dave Chang says that failure is is the price to pay for leveling up. We want to hit home runs and we want to be so good at what we do that we destroy everything around us. But to do that, we have to accept that failure is possible and even encourage it because it means we're taking big swings. End quote. And finally, he says, it's not that we ignore failure or avoid responsibility. That's delusion. And I'm not arguing that anyone should be delusional. You have to be intellectually curious about your failures, figure out what went wrong and reflect on how to do better next time. You can't let failure co opt your identity. End quote. Now that's another big idea. From the chapter on overcoming your demons and enemies. Failure, all caps bold. It's inevitable. Remember rule number one of a noble heroic life. It's supposed to be challenging. When you inevitably fail, figure out what you needed to learn, integrate that wisdom into your new approach, and dominate. Coach Wooden would agree. In our notes on Wooden on leadership, we talk about the fact that he says things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out. Then there's Steve Jobs's go to Guru Yogananda in the law of Success. He tells us even failure should act as a stimulant to your willpower and to your material and spiritual growth, weed out the causes of failure and with double vigor launch what you wish to accomplish. The season of failure is the best time for sowing seeds. Success. Then there's the legendary NFL quarterback Russell Wilson's go to guru Trevor Moad. In It Takes what It Takes he tells us Derek Jeter, Russell Wilson's favorite athlete, said what Russell was now living to be able to hit the game winning home run you have to be willing to strike out in the same batter's box. That translates to football pretty easily. To have a chance to throw the touchdown pass that wins the super bowl you have to be willing to throw the interception that loses the Super Bowl. Those two things live in the same moment and that's today's plus one. Remember failure is inevitable. It's the price we pay for leveling up. When you miss your target, use the data to get better. Then get back at it wiser and stronger than ever. Today.
