Successful people are usually well acquainted with failure. This is simply because successful people are triers, experimenters, optimists and they don't give up easily. They're not afraid of being first, of falling flat on their faces, making people laugh or crow.
Swept along by an idea, we become excited, enthusiastic and before we know it we have jumped. We have embarked on whatever seemingly madcap scheme we are convinced is brilliant.
Our friends and family may roll their eyes, smile at us fondly, get exasperated, infuriated or plain bored. 'Oh, she's off again, fasten your seat belts!'
Yet the world needs agents for change, otherwise nothing improves, nothing is learned - we stultify. So here are my tips for getting over your fear of failure and making your (little or big) mark on the world:
1. Give it a go! You have a dream, an idea, a passion and it might just work - give it a go! Don't let fear of failure stop you. Nothing ventured nothing gained.
2. If you want your children, friends and work colleagues to succeed - then you must make it safe to fail. Tell them to try, it doesn't matter. If people are to win it must be safe to lose.
3. Competition is tough. There's often someone better, faster, cleverer, but that doesn't detract from the satisfaction of your personal best. The satisfaction of just having climbed Everest is amazing. However, even if you had to stop 1000 metres from the summit because you had altitude sickness - you have still climbed Everest. You have had that experience and that is not failure.
4. Laugh! Laugh lots, at yourself, your weaknesses and failures. If you laugh it doesn't hurt so much and guess what? Other people don't laugh at you. They secretly admire your courage and they won't laugh, I promise.
5. You fear snide comments, ridicule and loss of face. I know this is tough, you'd feel diminished, humiliated, embarrassed and stupid. Well don't! Such behaviour says far more about the attacker than it does about you.
6. Everyone loves a down-to-earth trier. Especially us Brits! Think Eddie the Eagle, or the cheers for the man who comes last in the marathon. It's the taking part, the massive effort we admire.
7. Detach your sense of identity from your endeavour. You have tried your best and failed by whatever measure you were using. You're still a brave, strong, positive power in the world. That gets a big tick and is not a failure of you. Your failed endeavour is just something you tried that didn't work out.
Ok so I expect you're wondering in what ways I have tried and failed. You want me to come clean so you can judge by what authority and personal knowledge I can say success and failure are two sides of the same coin.
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