Failure and Risk

In order to succeed you must take risks, you must operate well out of your comfort zone. Risk implies that there is a chance of success or failure. Most of what holds coaches and athletes back from achieving ultimate success is not fear of failure, but fear of success. If they succeed, then they must do it again and probably be expected to do it better. This brings pressure, most of which is self-imposed. That being said to be highly successful failure must be an option. Learning from failures opens up the path to success. Failure is a learning opportunity, it is what you do with it and how you handle it. Let it define you and defeat you then yes then you have failed, build upon it define yourself and rise above it then you are a success. Johnny Cash, a man who certainly had his share of public and private failures and rose above them summed it up quite well: "You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space."