State Government (participants only)
Wednesday, February 2nd

Want to learn more about LJC? Call the Chamber at (601) 649-3031

If you fail, fail forward...

I was recently at a presentation half listening and jotting notes and half thinking about the 100 other things I had to do that day. As I was listening and scribbling barely legible notes, the speaker's words caught me off guard. He made this statement, "If you fail, and sometimes you will because we are not all perfect, make sure you fail forward". Now, at the time, I thought it was a quirky statement to be made and I thought to myself, I've got to use that in my writing. As I have pondered that statement over the last several weeks I realize what a profoundly beautiful statement it is. It really should be a motto for all of us to display proudly. Failure is not a negative. Failure at times may be a blemish on our egos, but through failure, we find better ways to succeed. Failure is the anvil on which we learn and are forged into better people. A lot of knowledge can be gained through the art of failure.Leo F. Buscaglia made this statement of failure, "We seem to gain wisdom more readily through our failures than through our successes. We always think of failure as the antithesis of success, but it isn't. Success often lies just the other side of failure." And so through failure we learn and better ourselves. We've all heard the tale of Thomas Edison who said he did not fail over two thousand times; he found two thousand ways not to make a light bulb. So what is the point of this? We need to take failure out of our vocabulary. We need not be afraid to try new things because we might fail. We need to persevere in our failures and in our efforts because through trying new things, we learn more than if we had not tried at all. I hope for all of you, as it will be for me, 2011 is a year of great success. I am setting out on many new endeavors this year and I know well that I will not hit the mark with all of them, but I am going to give them my best shot and I welcome the opportunity to learn from any mistakes along the way. I am looking forward to seeing what this New Year will bring us and how our community will grow through our successes and our failures.
 

And so I leave you with this final thought in true YP fashion from the godfather of our generation not only as a word of encouragement but as a rallying cry to give it your best shot and fail forward...
 

"Do, or do not. There is no 'try.'" -- Jedi Master Yoda

~ J. K. Rowling
 

"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase."

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
 

"Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely."

~ Henry Ford

62% of Mississippians believe our children will have to leave the state to find a good-paying job.

79% of Business Leaders believe Mississippi can improve its competitive position. 

Who Will Get Us There?

State Government
(participants only)
Wednesday, February 2nd

Want to learn more about FLJC? Call the Chamber at (601) 649-3031