Book number 21: Failing Forward by J. Maxwell. This one sat for long at my desk after my sister’s best friend priest lent it to me.
What it is: Failing Forward expresses why it is important to “fail early, fail often, and fail forward.” The world is obsessed with success that failures aren’t seen as the golden opportunities as they are. William Bolitho said it right:
The most important thing in life is not to capitalize on our gains. Any fool can do that. The really important thing is to profit from your losses. That requires intelligence; and it makes the difference between a man of sense and a fool.
What I liked about it: I wasn’t keen on reading a self-help book but after a few pages, I got hooked! Failing Forward reminded me of The Happiness Project. I loved all the back stories on the most successful and influential people – just goes to show you how “failure is not an event, but a process.” It’s not easy to fail, but it’s certainly necessary – with the right attitude, all failures become seeds that bears the fruit of success.
After all, there is no avoiding mistakes and failures and “some of us get jackhammered” even. But “to succeed you have to be open to problems… And as you go up the ladder, you gain the right to get more problems. The higher you go, the bigger the problems… But the most effective people have gone through the toughest times.” I guess it’s all in how you look at it!
What I did not like about it: Most self-help books are preachy, I guess that is a given. My only advice is to be open about this book, because if you are pretty negative, you would have a hard time reading. It started a bit slow for me but that’s alright because I eventually devoured it, savoring the stories. I liked the stories more than the tips actually. 😉
Recommended for: Leaders, dreamers, and all people looking for a boost in their lives, those trying to find direction, and maybe even to some who have given up. Failing Forward is definitely a nice, value-adding read.
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I love to read self-help books both online and offline. Self-help is a great topic too and of course we should always improve ourselves. :.“’
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i am not keen on self help books but there are times when good ones do come along and it is a joy to read them indeed. 🙂
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“The most important thing in life is not to capitalize on our gains. Any fool can do that. The really important thing is to profit from your losses. That requires intelligence; and it makes the difference between a man of sense and a fool.”
I really agree on this Prinsesa…
Gaining is nothing if we don’t know how to maximize it (without hurting anyone while favoring our life’s decisions and choices). If we gain but cause chaos in other’s lives… we are still losers, fools…
Losing is actually gaining when we know how to pick up our pieces, put them together, and see if we can still paint a better picture out of it. We might have lost a part but in rearranging the pieces using another perspective will make us see a different view that has a wholly different beauty…
Life’s direction is a matter of choice.
Life is short… my 11 yr old kid wrote this… 🙂
http://chilledhoney.wordpress.com/2012/05/26/life-is-short-so-make-it-count/
Good morning Prinsesa and lotsa love from me! 🙂
that is true. but it is not easy to do. however it is the only way to go that makes enough sense. what your kid wrote is fantastic! you have a very smart kid there. life is short indeed so let’s make the most of it. 🙂