Maybe Your Blog Needs to Fail

We have come to define success in terms of avoiding failure, but what if we re-defined success in terms of learning from failure and growing thereby? We’ve talked this week at Fuel Your Blogging about success and failure – here’s a re-cap:

• Success Is Just Beyond Reach… Thankfully
• Have You Designed Your Lifestyle for Success Yet?
• How to Profit From Being One of the Pack
• Ten Reasons Your Blog May Be Destined for Failure

Today I’d like to make the scandalous assertion that maybe your blog needs to fail. I mean that in two ways. Perhaps your blog should fail if it doesn’t fit with your bigger purpose and plan. If your blog is getting in the way of what you feel you really need to be doing, then count the cost and decide if you should continue. Life changes sometimes.

But I would also assert that your blog might need to fail sometimes in order to accomplish two great goals. One is to point you in new directions and force you to experiment and get out of your comfort zone. Though the phrase is tired, sometimes you should be forced to think outside the box.

The other point behind failing, however, is that we learn from our mistakes. In the video in this post, I mention two good books I’ve read about failure. Derailed, by Tim Irwin talks about four well-known corporate leaders who were derailed while seemingly at the top of their game. It’s truly one of the most frightening books I’ve ever read in terms of its warning to us to avoid failure.

Tim talks about the matters of authenticity and self-management, humility, and courage. When leaders derail (or bloggers), it’s because we’ve allowed one or more of these characteristics to be compromised in our lives.

The second book, Failing Forward by John Maxwell talks about turning our mistakes into stepping stones that lead us to success. No great leader in history has ever arisen who couldn’t point back to a pivotal mistake from which they learned the hard lessons.

I want to encourage you to examine your blogging, and your entire life for that matter, and ask the question – is failure the end? Or is it just an opportunity to grow? Get started!