Success Stories Are Overrated!
This week, I’m delivering the opening keynote at The International Boys’ Schools Coalition.
I don’t know if I’m more excited about standing in the Great Hall or being Steven Bartlett’s warm-up act! (Yes, THE Steven Bartlett!)
I’m a huge fan of his for two reasons:
1 – He openly shares his own Hero’s Journey (although he doesn’t refer to himself as that!) – from humble beginnings, overcoming adversity, starting small and building huge success. He’s vulnerable and authentic on his podcast and in his books. It’s a great reminder that your past is not a script for your future!
2- He embraces failure and actively builds a culture where failure is celebrated. And he doesn’t just talk the talk. He’s gone ahead and hired a Head Of Failure who is focused on driving up their team’s “Failure rate”. Imagine the psychological safety in those team meetings! team knowing it’s okay to fail, learn from it and go again!
I often talk about the importance of keeping your ‘Failure CV’ up to date. If you’ve just shuddered at the thought of your own Failure CV, consider this:
Success stories without sweat are just noise.
I’d much rather hear about…
👉🏾 How you’ve reframed after adversity
👉🏾 How you’ve called yourself up rather than called yourself out
👉🏾 How you’ve decided your past is not a script for your future
It’s time to rebrand failure! Stop fearing (and hiding) mistakes and share what it looks like to recalibrate.
So, what’s on your failure CV?