I was afraid to fail.  It had been programmed into my mind that failure was unacceptable.  Isn't this true for most of us?  Are you afraid of failure?

If you've read Robby Slaughter's book Failure: The Secret to Success, you may think differently about failure.

In fact, after reading this book, you will understand how failure may have a purpose and can sometimes play an imperative role in creating a victory.  Robby offers numerous examples and insights into errors and failures throughout history that have led to success.

I'll share one of my favorite failure examples. This example is in reference to the Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's observation,"well-behaved women seldom make history."

Robby writes, "Case in point: the reference above to Ulrich's quotation about "well-behaved women" might seem like an appropriate suggestion about the historical importance of intentional misconduct. In fact, the selection of this passage is an example of a white lie and is an intentional failure. The original scholarly article where these words first appeared was about Puritan funeral sermons. In context, the remark merely notes that women in that culture held a high regard for being modest, unassuming and mostly invisible. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich wanted to comment that historians don't know much about women in Puritan society because those individuals preferred to go unnoticed."

This certainly is not what I thought it was pertaining to, that's for sure!

Now, can I claim after reading Robby's book  that I am completely able to accept all of my imperfections?  No, but I am able to see how they are not all necessarily devastating like I can make them out to be.  I can understand the lessons in failure and how they can potentially lead to a greater success.

All this being said, we have important systems in place to avoid failure.  For example, in regards to email, testing an email prior to sending it is an effective way to make sure failure doesn't happen.  You can check to make sure your email is rendering right, with appropriate content, and all your spelling and grammar is correct. Testing can help, but if a mistake were to happen - would it be the end of the world?

For more information about Failure: The Secret to Success, click here.

For guest blogs that Robby has written for Delivra, see the links below:

Email and Productivity Go Hand-In Hand

The Double Audience, Double Editing Rule

Leave your comments regarding the book in the comments section!  I'd love to read what you thought!

Lavon Temple | Marketing