What You Want: To realize a dream or a passion project
What to Try: Failing forward
The problem with trying something new (like: photography) is that we
approach it, hoping for instant success. Instead, write Ryan Babineaux
PhD and John Krumboltz PhD in their new book, Fail Fast, Fail Often
it helps us to bomb out over and over, each time using the experience
to "fail forward." The co-creators of Stanford University's continuing
studies course of the same name outline a specific process:
1. Find something that you'd like to try but haven't because
you're afraid of splatting on your face. (Example: "I want take pictures
for a living.")
2. Find a way to fail at it as quickly as possible. (For example, "I'm going to take pictures at my cousin's wedding next week.")
3. Do it and tell people you're new to this. (For example,
"While I'm snapping away, I'll tell everybody I'm a beginner and ask
what people think about the shots").
4. Go home and analyze ("What came naturally, and what do I need to work on? What was fun—and what wasn't?")
5. Set another challenge and fail again ("Next time, I'll take
pictures at a wedding and get paid for it"). By the shifting your focus
to learning something as a beginner (instead of, say, producing
something amazing), write the authors, you will perform better,
enjoy yourself more, find ways to learn from your stumbles—all of which
leads you to succeed much more quickly.
