Posts Tagged ‘failure’

What’s Missing in Productivity Today?

This month, we asked Lifehack.org contributors — and you, our readers — to think about the things that are missing in today’s productivity systems. Not only the areas where the "Big Name" systems fall short, but the gaps in our own systems, the places where we as individuals fall down.

The Lifehack.org community rose to the challenge, offering a variety of thought-provoking posts and comments that… » Continue

March 28 2008 | By Dustin | Tagged: advice, contact-management, failure, gtd, information management, perfectionism, Productivity, software, time-management, tips | 7 comments»

Welcome Failure

Very often the best way to test an idea is not to analyze it but to try it. The organization that implements lots of ideas will most likely have many failures but the chances are, it will reap some mighty successes too. By trying numerous initiatives we improve our chances that one of them will be a star. As Tom Kelley of IDEO puts it… » Continue

March 27 2008 | By Paul | Tagged: creativity, failure, imagination, leadership, Management, problem-solving, success, thinking | 10 comments»

I Won Science Fair with A Failed Project: The Skill of Presenting Failures

For my first three science fairs, I received a participation ribbon — no prizes, no other acknowledgment. For my fourth, I walked away with $600, a first place award from AFCEA, a Discovery Science award and the Yale Science & Engineering Association Award.

My science fair project that year wasn’t any different from my past projects: I failed to prove anything, learned nothing about science, and did the project in… » Continue

February 5 2008 | By Thursday | Tagged: failure, presentation, Projects | 31 comments»

10 Reasons You Aren’t Achieving Success

A couple of months ago, I asked you not to fear failure, saying that embracing failure — or at least the possibility of failure — was essential to success. But, of course, in the end the goal is to succeed, and fear of failing isn’t the only thing that keeps us from succeeding.

I speak from experience here. Six or seven years ago, I was the picture of… » Continue

November 9 2007 | By Dustin | Tagged: failure, goal, lifelesson, success | 43 comments»

Leadership and the Human Stain

Wired Magazine recently posted an interesting profile of Getting Things Done author David Allen. A similar profile ran in Business 2.0 over the summer. The pieces detail a history of drug abuse and addiction, mental breakdown, drifting, and divorce, before Allen eventually encountered the spiritual leader John-Roger, the Mystical Traveler, and began assembling the philosophy that would come to stand as the core of GTD.

While there’s little… » Continue

October 3 2007 | By Dustin | Tagged: clinton, davidallen, empower, failure, gandhi, gtd, human, leadership | 14 comments»

How to Fail at Practically Anything

I say, fail a lot. Push yourself to the limits of your talents, endurance, and common sense, and then go one step further and fall down, spectacularly if possible. Failure is one of life’s great forces; it’s driven far more innovation than talent, creativity, or necessity combined. Plus, its stories are better.

Most people, of course, avoid failure. Or, at least, they try to, as much… » Continue

September 12 2007 | By Dustin | Tagged: failing, failure, planning, risk, success | 11 comments»

The Two F-Words You Should Love

Make Failure and Frustration Your Friends: A History Lesson

We all experience failure and the subsequent frustration. But how you handle those tormentors makes all the difference in your final outcomes. Oftentimes the peak of frustration comes right before a major breakthrough. That’s if you don’t quit. So don’t quit! Instead use the energy behind that frustration to break through to a new level of strategy. Make failure the friend… » Continue

June 27 2007 | By K. | Tagged: failure, famous, frustration, people | 22 comments»

How fear of failure destroys success

Trial and error are usually the prime means of solving life’s problems. Yet many people are afraid to undertake the trial because they’re too afraid of experiencing the error. They make the mistake of believing that all error is wrong and harmful, when most of it is both helpful and necessary. Error provides the feedback that points the way to success. Only error pushes people to put together a new… » Continue

May 28 2007 | By Adrian | Tagged: balance, career, failure, Management, success | 30 comments»

Handling the bad stuff

Many people are having a bad time in organizations today. It’s not simply those experiencing budget cuts and lay-offs. Many others are experiencing a deep sense of hurt and loss: loss of much of a life outside of work, loss of their hopes and expectations, loss of their trust in the future, loss of confidence in reaching their career goals. The cruelest hurt is the collective loss of belief that… » Continue

April 30 2007 | By Adrian | Tagged: attitude, failure, obstacle, work | 4 comments»

Getting Things Done vs. Fear of Failure

Dave Pollard is on to something. What if you’re following along with David Allen’s Getting Things Done, and for whatever reason, it’s still not working? He suggests you consider your feelings around failure.

As the delightful Imogen Heap song suggests, maybe you’ve got your heart in a headlock. Fear of failure is not the same as procrastination: Procrastination is usually the result of a project or Next Action just being… » Continue

April 26 2006 | By Chris | Tagged: failure, fear, gtd, personality | no comments»

How To Make Resolutions You’ll Keep

Too many resolutions barely last through January. Here’s how to make plnas for 2006 you’ll be certain to keep. » Continue

January 2 2006 | By Adrian | Tagged: action, article, career, commitment, failure, happiness, health, learning, Lifehack, motivation, personal, planning, resolution | 2 comments»

From Mistake to Marvel

November is the month we celebrate thankfulness, gratitude, and appreciation. Lately, in my neck of the late autumn woods, we’ve been talking story about mistakes, and how we should appreciate them.

What? Be thankful for mistakes?

Absolutely. Let’s really think about this with an open mind.

Mistakes are part of the learning process. If you aren’t making mistakes, you probably aren’t stretching enough, learning enough, or embracing the catalytic converter action… » Continue

November 10 2005 | By Rosa | Tagged: failure, learning, mistake | 2 comments»