Embracing Failures

April 11, 2008 · Filed Under Musings, Gaming, Marketing 

I’m currently reading a business book, Re-Imagine by Tom Peters. In it, interestingly enough, is a section on embracing failures. Tom writes; “Failure is something that companies and individuals must… embrace. Frankly, at all costs. Unless you’re searching… wildly! … you’re not going to reach that Brass Ring Called… Hyper-Sucess amidst a Brawl with No Rules.”

A lot of us are embarassed by our failures but hey… it’s the setbacks that makes us stronger. Why? Because you dove into something you absolutely (or know little) of and you LEARNED something from it. Our failures gave us important insight, knowledge and the common sense of what ‘not to do’ next time around.

I used to NOT talk about my failures. And in my professional and personal life, I had a lot. But reading that book made me realize that if I didn’t make those mistakes, it could (and would) be more costly if I made it now (when the stakes are higher). 

Take for instance the MMORPG and online games industry. We were the first, the pioneer. Since there were no “manuals” or defined steps in this business, we didn’t know exactly what to do (at the start… in the early years). So, we did a couple of things. Some of them were successes and some of them were… well, failures. But now, on hindsight, we’re better, smarter and know what works and what doesn’t. “Charge it to experience” is what makes me more the wiser.

And that’s not all, I tried to start a few businesses even before my current job. A lot of them didn’t go well. Now, I KNOW FOR A FACT that some ideas look good on paper but not good in practice. Take, for example, my first attempt at starting a website business. My partners and I conceptualized sections, design and all that mumbo-jumbo. Suffice it to say that that project failed.

Why? Simply because we didn’t define the NEED and the GOAL of our business. We weren’t looking “outside the box”. Blinded by enthusiasm (this comes with youth) and excitement, I jumped headlong into something that I thought made sense. Oh well… but hey! I came out the wiser. Chalk one up to a better understanding of the web and the needs and wants of users.

So, whether in your job, your education or even in the games you play. Be proud of your failures. You should thank the fates that it’s better to have failed and succeeded than to succeed and then fail eventually. Even runners start from a stationary position. Sometimes they fall but when they get up, it’s the goal that matters.

You’re more likely to savor the sweet taste of success if you analyze your failures and learn from them.

GM Tristan

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Comments

2 Responses to “Embracing Failures”

  1. Siomai on April 12th, 2008 5:49 pm

    well said GM. T ^^

  2. GM T on April 13th, 2008 12:08 am

    Thank you

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