For a long time, failure has been looked down upon as a bad word. It’s no surprise failure has earned a bad reputation: from grade school through university and into the workplace, failure is seen as a worst-case scenario to be avoided at ALL costs. And while it’s true that failure stings, that it can be uncomfortable and disheartening, it’s also a powerful learning tool.
Failure has been crowned the mother of innovation, because innovation is something we can only learn through a process of trial and error. To be innovative, you have to be willing to experiment and fail a few times.
“The best way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney
How can we embrace failure?
We’re eager to try new things in the name of play, and when things don’t go our way, instead of dwelling on what didn’t work, we’re quick to move on and try something new. Think of little kids playing with building blocks. When a tower comes crashing down, they don’t waste time worrying about what went wrong: they jump right into a new approach.
“Failure is success in progress.” —Albert Einstein
Moonshot
Moonshot Thinking is when you choose a huge problem and propose to create a radical solution to the problem using technology. For this to happen you have to abandon the idea of creating a 10% improvement and focus on a solution that will bring ten times (x10) improvements, or solve it completely.
This term comes from a speech in 1962 by President John F. Kennedy where he delivered these words: “We choose to go to the moon in this decade”, that planted the seeds to align an entire country to go to the moon. We could say that JFK did not set that goal by knowing how we could achieve it or by promising it would be easy, he simply said that we were going to accomplish something incredible, setting the timeframe and inspiring toward action.
What is your moonshot?
You learn more from failure than from success. Don't let it stop you. Failure builds character." – Unknown
Explore the K12 Career Education Navigator
The K12 Career Technical Education (CTE) Navigator helps you explore high school courses and career pathways offered across San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. Browse by industry sector, county, school district, and more to find options that match your interests and career goals and see how these pathways can prepare you for college, certifications, apprenticeships, or the workforce.
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