I Want To Fail In My Blogging Efforts

Posted by Alex | February 28, 2010 .

I welcome failure in any effort I make, even at the effort to make money blogging. That's right, I want to fail.

There was a small machine shop, where I was a foreman, that was owned by a man who knew nothing about metal removal techniques and processes. He was a Bean Counter for Chist's sake.

That man's favorite past time was to stick his nose into the machining and say, "Turn those feeds and speeds dials up until the tool breaks. Then back it down until it doesn't break the tool."

What the hell did he know about machining?

I used to bitch about that habit of his all the time. Then one day, I realized he was right. No matter what knowledge is put into play, there is always more to learn.

What the shop owner knew that I didn't was everything I didn't. Where I was used to programming in feeds and speeds based on criteria and specific formulas, his mind was free from all that. He was unobstructed by what is known to work and was lucid with what might work.

He failed until he succeeded.

Failure is a word that is cringed at and ostracized in our society. We fear failure. But, without failure, we gain no real knowledge of how processes work. There is no getting out hands dirty looking into the bowels of the mechanics.

If we don't burn our tongues, then chances are we will never enjoy sipping hot chocolate.

If I don't fail in the process of succeeding in blogging, then I may never know the real success I could gain. And I have a plan for failure. My plan is classical in the sense that I lay out a strategy and rely on tactics to keep my efforts closely in line with my strategy.

My plan to fail involves:

Learning and teaching
Experimentation
Validation of my failures
Repeating my successes
Action

Learning and Teaching

I constantly read and watch media about blogging and SEO. What I learn, I pass on as quickly as I can. If what I pass on is questionable in some one's view, I'll explore those questions.

Believe me, I know that I am not always right in my teaching about blogging, that I fail from time to time to get my message across, or that my message may be a failure in itself. But, if I don't talk and listen, then I'll believe I'm right.

That is a big set up for mediocrity.

By teaching and watching those I teach exceed me in my efforts, I can see where I fail. I can learn from my students.

Experimentation

It's New! It's Improved!

I don't want effin' new and improved. I want different, and I won't know if different works until I experiment with it. Until I push the envelope and it pushes back.

I won't know if different works until I break the envelope and scrape my knees on the way out. That's the reason for the funky banner to build my list instead of the usual sign-up form.

This is also why I spent hours breaking my permalinks on two blogs. I wanted to push the knowledge that I was formally comfortable with. I wanted to acheive that sick feeling of having to recover from a failure, and then succeed in recovering.

Validation Of My Failures

If I validate my failures, or own them, I can manipulate the process that landed me on my ass. If they are my failures, I can work past them.

If I assign those failures to someone else, then I just put up another roadblock and admit defeat before I re-start. Not immersing myself in my failures leads to Status Quo.

Repeating My Successes

By repeating my successes I know they truly are successes. I also can find items along the way that can be tweaked for greater success.

If the second time I try something that worked results in failure, I now know I have some rethinking and reworking to do.

If I succeed three times in a row, I can pass it on to someone else to break.

Action

All the planning in the world can't replace the emotion and passion that is derived by getting in there and duking it out. In fact, it is possible to plan the desire completely out of a project.

I do this when I use outlines to write posts. Sometimes I'll have the whole post resolved before I actually write it and feel like there is no need to write it.

I need to be like those explorers in the old movies. Strike out into the jungle and circumvent any hurdles. This beats the heck out of sitting on my hands because in my planning I saw too my obstacles.

"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

~ Michael Jordan

For me, half the fun is failing, half the fun is learning, and half the fun is teaching. I will never feel like I've succeeded at the effort to make money blogging unless I succeed at bloodying my nose and scraping my knees.

How about you? Do you fear failure?

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10 Comments so far

Joan February 28, 2010 12:39 pm

Fear of failure and fear of the unknown both are paralyzing -- and I battle those daily -- but I am getting better at winning at both! lol
.-= Joan Adams´s last blog ..Remember, death is a part of life. =-.
michey
Twitter: cernescu
February 28, 2010 12:42 pm

I agree with all 5 points, and by the way, we can learn and teach, recommend experimenting, but experimenting is a learning curve only you can do it for yourself. If we do it, it will be our experience not yours.
I don't want to sound pathetic but the success is equivalent with the amount or work, persistence, consistency, willing... strong enough to make it happened, and not afraid.
To our success on the beach
Michey
.-= michey´s last blog ..Advertising Your Products =-.
michellewillow February 28, 2010 1:36 pm

Great post Alex. Somehow, I've been type of person who always had to try things on my own things to see what will happen. That don't surprise you, right? And, yes, years of burning my fingers surely say that best way of learning is to try, fail, improve and go back at the beginning. One thing is important in all of this: we are all different and different things work for us. This can even be copied on online activities, blogging, Squidoo and everything else. Noone can guarantee that what works for one type of audience will work for other. Same structure of the lens that talks about toys and the one that talks about music are not a guarantee that, if one is successful, other will be too. Only way to do things is to try, and in most cases - we'll first fail and have to change thing and apply what we learned to succeed.
mukunda22
Twitter: kateloving
February 28, 2010 6:05 pm

More to the point, do you/I/we fear success??
.-= mukunda22´s last blog ..Amy Flynn On MoonMooYou: The Collective Wisdom =-.
Alex February 28, 2010 6:09 pm

Way to confront those gears, Joan! Especially on the Internet, what is there to fear? And look, you are looking at some pretty awesome backsides as those who belong to them blaze a trail into the unknown
.-= Alex´s last blog ..I Want To Fail In My Blogging Efforts =-.
Alex February 28, 2010 6:10 pm

Yes indeed. Experimenting HAS to be performed by the individual. There is no better way to succeed than finding out for yourself what works and doesn't work.
.-= Alex´s last blog ..I Want To Fail In My Blogging Efforts =-.
Alex February 28, 2010 6:13 pm

Michelle, hell no that don't surprise me. As far as the individuality of the experience; yes. I agree wholeheartedly. When trying to succeed in business, you never try to mimic what the winners do. They have a unique set of circumstances, just as you do. We can model our attempts after theirs, just use different tactics.
.-= Alex´s last blog ..I Want To Fail In My Blogging Efforts =-.
Alex February 28, 2010 6:13 pm

Good point, Kate.
.-= Alex´s last blog ..I Want To Fail In My Blogging Efforts =-.
michey
Twitter: cernescu
February 28, 2010 6:21 pm

Kate, I am not fair success, but I know that it is a diffrent fight to "keep it"...
.-= michey´s last blog ..Advertising Your Products =-.
Correen (clouda9)
Twitter: clouda9
February 28, 2010 9:46 pm

It's not until I became an adult that I realized failure was NOT a bad thing. Although I don't like the feeling, I've certainly learned lessons. Great post as usual Alex, had me thinking that 'thinking out of the box' is a good thing
.-= Correen´s last blog ..Refreshing Raspberry Shrub =-.