Failure's Alternative: Do Nothing

" In fact you need dreamers to stretch. I probably have failed more times in my life than almost anybody I know. But that's because I've tried more things. And I'm not afraid to fail because the consequences of avoiding failure are doing nothing."
- Vinod Khosla, in a 60 Minutes interview with Lesley Stahl, 1/5/14

I went to a Crossfit workout this morning which was more frustrating than all my previous workouts put together. I don't know how to lift the weights, my back was so tight that I needed remedial stretching, and I had trouble doing each of the three exercises that comprised the rounds of our workout. Shoulder to overhead lifts were the easiest of the three, whereas "toes to bar" and "double unders" are still mysterious, speaking euphemistically. I know we should embrace a beginner's mind in all things, but this was ridiculous!

Then I remembered watching 60 Minutes last night with the family, and I took heart with the recall of Vinod Khosla's approach. Khosla's a venture capitalist that made it big in Silicon Valley and then moved into "green energy tech", an area which has struggled tremendously with birth and growing pains, especially since the recent boom of native natural gas. The kids asked me why we should keep pursuing clean energy when so many efforts were struggling and I pointed to the Chinese investor who has bought many US green energy companies. He notes that the payoff is not now or in two years, but down the road. We have to have patience, continue to try new things, and not be discouraged by failures. Someday the gas and oil will all be gone, and we will need new ideas in the pipeline before that moment.

So I'll continue to try new things and fail, and hopefully the children will learn to do the same. I don't want them to be afraid of failure, to always bet with the current "in thing" or trusted safe strategies. Dreamers dream and dreamers fail, but dreamers also progress; in fact, they are the only ones who do. The alternative to failure is doing nothing, and I don't plan to use that strategy until I am lying in the cold hard ground.Which may be soon if I keep trying to lift heavy weights.. . . .