Subscribe to my newsletter - the Step Up! You'll get an inside look into my thoughts, mental models, and ways of going about life - with the goal of helping you do the same. Take the first step and join me on this journey. Newsletter every Thursday at 4:30pm CST.
The Step Up - Volume 3: Fail Fast & Often
Volume 3: Fail Fast & Often"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work" -Thomas Jefferson on inventing the light bulb This is one of my favorite quotes - ever. It's not defeatist. It's just a guy who knows he's on the path to accomplishment, and these "failures" are just necessary steps on that path. A lot of us have heard people say "You don't fail unless you quit. Until then, you learn." It's been said countless times over millennia in different ways:
Just Google "quotes on failure," and you'll find all these and more. But let's take this line of thought a step further. Think of learning as paying down "ignorance debt" - the concept that your lack of knowledge hinders you in doing what you want to do. You are in debt to your not knowing. You can pay down your ignorance debt in various ways:
Failure is just a method of learning - of paying down ignorance debt. And it's accessible to everyone for free at all times, unlike formal education or most professional resources. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me. I end with this quote that shook my soul when I first saw it: We're all X amount of failures from our goal. We just don't know how many. How fast would you want to fail? I'd think as fast & often as possible. See you next Thursday, Steppers. We will succeed, Grayson Song of the Week:
glaive's new project Y'all sent me down the rabbit hole of his 2020-2022 music and MAN, I forgot how addicted I was to his music! bastard ranked #7 on my Top Songs of 2021 list, and it's truly next-level hyper pop. I absolutely love how he harmonized with himself in his earlier music, and the energy and song structure for such a short run time makes it like an audible Oreo - I can never listen just once. |
Grayson Stepanek
Subscribe to my newsletter - the Step Up! You'll get an inside look into my thoughts, mental models, and ways of going about life - with the goal of helping you do the same. Take the first step and join me on this journey. Newsletter every Thursday at 4:30pm CST.
Vol. 11: The Power of Thanks Friendsgiving at Cafe Bella Today's all about giving thanks. There's so much power in that mindset. Thankfulness. An "attitude of gratitude," as the Boomers call it (shoutout Zig Ziglar). But it's true. Poising your mind to be in a state of thankfulness is so, so powerful. Gratitude puts you in a positive headspace, reducing fears or negativity. It makes you more present and aware, pulling you from the future's "what if's" or the past's "why's." It reduces...
Vol. 10: If This Isn't the Time of My Life, Then When Is? This made me pause. This was the ending screen at EDEN's concert, and it's been a motto around his recent album DARK. It relates to one of my biggest struggles: constantly focusing on what's next and often forgetting to appreciate the present. If this isn't the time of my life, then when is? It's so easy to get caught up in the pursuit: Living for the weekend Attaining the next promotion or award Chasing that next PR I struggle with...
Vol 9: The Myth of Youthful Energy My actual calendar from last week Last week was a whole month. Literally the busiest week of my year. A productive, fun, meaningful busy - but busy nonetheless. It made me think about how people say they appreciate someone's "youthful energy" when the other person is doing a lot, and that's always stuck with me, but not in the way those people intend. "Youthful energy" is a myth. Putting myself in these shoes: I know people older than me who are working...