Robert F. Kennedy
Fail Greatly
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968) was an American politician and lawyer from Massachusetts. He served as the United States junior senator from New York from January 1965 until his assassination in June 1968. He was previously the 64th U.S. Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, serving under his older brother President John F. Kennedy and his successor, President Lyndon B. Johnson. Kennedy was a member of the Democratic Party, and is seen as an icon of modern American liberalism.
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So this guy didn't live long, 43 years old is when he was assassinated.
I'm not a huge history buff so I really don't know whole lot about him. I'm sure, like any politician, he had haters and followers.
Of course this post today is not about the man but words spoken by the man.
I read a wonderful post from @sam19 yesterday where Sam says:
“I don’t care if I fail but I will keep trying, failure doesn’t hurt me anymore, I’ve been through a lot so I fear nothing at the moment”
Well, I loved this statement! I'm not sure if Sam even realizes how empowering this statement really can be!
Anyway this, coupled with my own multitude of failures, inspired me toward the quote for today...
Or as I like to say:
Michael Jordan has his own way of saying it also:
The truth is, we all fail!
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The greater truth is that those of us that have done the biggest things have also failed the most.
The trick is to learn from each failure and start again.
If you fail, then stop trying, you will have nothing.
Yet, with each successive failure, that you have learned something from, you have taken one step toward a real success.
Things learned from a failure are also learned deeper and retained longer.
Succeeding without failing teaches us nothing. That's called getting lucky.
Failures should be welcomed and appreciated, not feared.
Now, I'm not saying to go out looking to fail because if you do then failure has now become the goal which is essentially an oxymoron. Though you would still become great at it I'm sure lol.
I'm saying to see failure as a rewarding chance to learn something new. Something that will help you pass life's next set of tests.
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See it as a teaching tool instead of a punishment and it will be just that.
When we learned to tie our shoes or ride a bike we failed a bunch of times. Each time we learned something new that lead us further toward mastering it. Soon enough it was so much a part of us that it was absolutely natural and we don't even think about it as we do it.
We applied what we learned from each failure to the next attempt until it finally worked.
The key to failing is to focus on the goal and not the failure itself.
So if you start a business, then lose all of your money, you have 2 choices:
Rant and complain about how you are out of money and can never get anything to go right.
Get upset! Then think of ways to get the thing back up and running with or without the money.
Option 1 has you focusing on the problem. Option 2 puts your focus on the goal (building a business).
Option 1 can only bring you more of the despair that you feel in that moment.
Option 2 brings you one step closer to building a thriving business!
The only difference is the choice you make.
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There is always choice, especially in times that you cannot tell.
So the next time you fail...
Celebrate!
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Because you have just been given a chance to move to the next level!
A chance to grow!
A chance to take one more step toward your goal!
Be sure to remember what Robert F. Kennedy said:
Thanks for reading.
Michael David