Making mistakes vs. failing

I see “inspirational” quotes often about making mistakes. You know, on Twitter, Facebook, etc. There seems to be confusion about making mistakes and failing (repeating similar mistakes). Let’s talk about that.

On my way to pick up a new ship in EVE Online, I decided it was a good time to talk about the difference between making mistakes (which everyone does) and failing (repeating the same or similar mistake(s) over time)…again.

It is common for people who are failing to seek solace in inspirational quotes about making mistakes. Inevitably, Edison is used as an example for the amount of attempts it took for him to create the light bulb. Here is one (of many) flaws in that argument: Edison was creating something that had never been created before. If a person fails at relationships, business attempts, etc. these are all things that have been done before, by millions of people. Theoretically, if properly approached, the risk of failure should be minimal. Unfortunately, emotions often rule over common sense, resulting in high failure rates in those areas.

In the video, I used real world examples to show how repetitive failing will usually lead to more failure, not success.

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