"There is no failure in life other than not trying. If you want something enough, make an attempt... A lot of people get scared. They're afraid to fail. Take that word out of your vocabulary. You didn't 'fail.' You 'tried your best.'" - Jane Seymour
This is the time of year that many Cub Scout Packs have Pinewood Derby races. The Boy Scouts of America stresses good sportsmanship. In materials provided by the BSA, the boys are told, "Notice that only one car can win for speed, but success by doing your best is possible for every Cub Scout." Success is measured by effort not by result.
I took several technical theater classes taught by Herb Camburn when I attended CaliforniaStateUniversity - Long Beach. He stressed that he wanted his students to continually challenge themselves. He said an interesting failure is better than a boring success because you can learn from the failure. I got a B from him in one class where my projects turned out perfect, but he felt that I picked easy projects that did not require much effort. In another class that he taught I tried more ambitious projects which did not all succeed. For example, I tried blocking a cowboy hat with very tall crown out of felt. In theory the method should have worked, but it didn't. I was trying to alter the shape of the felt too far. However, in the process I learned some methods that I was able to apply to other projects. Based on my effort and my growth in skills during the semester he gave me an A for the course.
In Creativity For Entertainers Volume One: The Creative Process, I discuss risking failure as a necessary part of creativity. One of the concepts that I mention is limiting the cost of failure to make it more acceptable. One way of doing this is experimenting with a prototype using less expensive materials. That way if your idea doesn't work, you have not lost as much financially. If it works, then you make a more permanent version with better materials.
Another concept is finding a safe place to fail. When I was a member of the Orange County Magic Club I would create something new each month for the Open Mike portion of the meeting. Often a theme was announced to provide potential inspiration. Some of my new routines were more successful than others. I learned a lot in the process, and I eventually added some of those ideas to my regular performance repertoire.
A willingness to risk failure is necessary for improvisation. I carefully plan and prepare for my performances, but I also will take a detour if the opportunity for an improvised interaction occurs. Those spur of the moment ideas do not always work out. If they are less successful than I would like, I accept that as part of the process. I quickly win back the audience with something that I know is sure fire. Sometimes though the result is a beautiful spontaneous moment that the audience realizes is real verses rehearsed. Those moments would not occur if I did not try.
Being willing to risk failure is necessary for success, but sometimes clowns and other entertainers become too accepting of failure. Many times I have read in clown publications that it is okay if a clown fails because they are supposed to do things wrong so you really don't need to learn how to do it correctly. It is true that audiences can be very forgiving if they know you are making an honest effort. The key is to make an honest effort. Audiences will not forgive a lack of preparation. Obvious inadequate preparation demonstrates a lack of respect for the audience which they resent. Originally my clown character failed in everything he attempted. It took me many years to learn that if an audience cares about a character they want the character to ultimately succeed. That is why in so many sports movies the loveable underdog scores the winning point.
How do you define success? Are you afraid to fail? What can you do to make failure acceptable? Where is it safe for you to try new ideas? How can you limit the cost of failure? Do you honestly try your best with every attempt? How much effort do you invest?
